Romans 4:7-8 – Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him. (NIV)

The wallpaper was dingy and stained and did not want to come off. I talked with the paint people at the store, and they told me to paint over it and how to do so. I decided to try it.

As I applied the paint over the paper, I was amazed at how well it covered. A once gloomy room had been transformed into something new, bright, and clean.

This painting over of the wallpaper reminded me of how we, too, are covered by the Lord's grace and forgiveness when we trust in the power of the blood of Jesus, His work done for us upon the cross.

Our dingy, stained, sin-filled lives, when given to Him, are transformed in an instant. Those sins that were impossible for us to cover over by our own good works are gone. They are covered, to be remembered no more, never to be counted against us. As the apostle Paul wrote:

2 Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (NIV)

Anyone who now enters my home would never know what is covered over by the paint. However, I know, just as I also know and remember the sins that Jesus has so graciously covered over in my life. I believe that this knowing is a good thing, even though I am assured that my sins are forgiven and will never be counted against me by the Lord. It is a good thing because it reminds me of how much God has done for me, and it causes both my heart to praise Him and my will to seek to serve Him with gratitude.

There is, however, another lesson here for us to learn. If God covers our sins through grace and never counts them against us, then we, too, must do likewise. We must avoid the penchant for holding the confessed sins of fellow Christians against them, even though there is that within us which likes to keep their sins before us, perhaps because it makes us feel better about ourselves, as we pat ourselves on the back, believing that we would never do such a thing. The writer of Proverbs, however, very wisely pens this about the proud:

Proverbs 16:18 – Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. (NIV)

Let us therefore ask God for grace, humility, and love to forgive and forget the covered-over sins of others. Just as He loves us, we are to "love each another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." (1 Peter 4:8 NIV)

Prayer: Father God, thank You for Your forgiveness, and help us today to love others as You love us, forgiving, forgetting, and not counting their covered-over sins against them. In Christ's name, we pray. Amen.

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About the author:

Lynne Phipps <lynnephippsatlin@gmail.com>
Tawatinaw, Alberta, Canada
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