A number
of years ago I was hiking along the Salmon River and came across a grove of
pine trees that had been partially stripped of their bark. I knew from a friend
who is a forester that the Native Americans who hunted this area long ago had
peeled the outer bark and harvested the underlying layer for chewing gum. Some
of the scars were disfiguring, but others, filled with crystallized sap and
burnished by wind and weather, had been transformed into patterns of rare
beauty.
So it is
with our transgressions. We may be scarred by the sins of the past. But those
sins, repented of and brought to Jesus for His forgiveness, can leave behind
marks of beauty.
Some
people, having tasted the bitterness of sin, now loathe it. They hate evil and
love righteousness. Theirs is the beauty of holiness.
Others,
knowing how far they fall short (Rom. 3:23), have tender hearts toward others.
They rise up with understanding, compassion, and kindness when others fail. Theirs
is the beauty of humility.
Finally,
when acts of sin are freely and thoroughly forgiven it leads to intimacy with
the One who has shown mercy. Such sinners love much for much has been forgiven
(Luke 7:47). Theirs is the beauty of love.
A
forgiven heart is the fountain of beauty. (RBC)
