Monday, February 23, 2015. Psalm 32:1-2.

Imagine that all your sin–all the envy, bitterness, hatred, fear, gossip, selfishness–is like a heavy, stinky, nasty coat that you’ve been wearing that makes you want to throw up it is so bad. Yet, it has been your only piece of clothing you have, so you wear it. That would be an awful existence, wouldn’t it?

Now imagine that someone comes along and takes that coat from you and throws it away. How would you feel? On the one hand you would feel relieved that it is gone. But, on the other hand, you would feel embarrassed, because now you are naked.

Now imagine that the same person who took the nasty coat covered you with a wonderful, clean, warm set of clothes. How would you feel? Happy. Complete. Protected. Loved.

That’s what God has done for you through Jesus. Jesus died for us. He carried our sins away and covered us with his own clothes–the King’s clothes.

Your sins are carried away, and you are covered. That’s what our reading tells us (BTW, the Hebrew word forgiven literally means carried).

They key word for this week is forgiven. Our main text from the sermon yesterday was Matthew 18:21-35. Peter asked Jesus how many times we should forgive someone and Jesus said we shouldn’t even count, we should just forgive. Why? Because we have been forgiven.

Since your sins are carried and covered, who do you need to forgive today?