In my church on Sunday mornings, we are given a short period of time to confess our sins privately to God, but I'm always still busy when it's time to move forward. Maybe you can tell, one of my favorite things about God is that He forgives my sins. Do you like that about Him, too? I know my own waywardness and it seems to me to be more and more obvious the longer I'm a Christian. I recently came across today's passage in my reading and thought it was especially appropriate for me. And maybe it’s for you too, so let's listen to it:

Who is a God like You, removing iniquity and passing over rebellion for the remnant of His inheritance? He does not hold on to His anger forever, because He delights in faithful love. (Micah 7:18)

Micah is an Old Testament prophet, one of a group known as the Minor Prophets. He's not "minor" because what he has to say isn't important; he's minor because there are fewer of his writings available to us than from some of the other prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah. But, what he says to us isn't minor at all! In today's passage, Micah is exclaiming over the amazing forgiveness that God gives. He removes our iniquity (lawlessness), passes over our rebellion and lets go of His anger toward us. But here comes the most amazing part. Why does He do it? Because He delights in faithful love! That's a different kind of love from the kind of love you and I have for the people around us, isn't it? I love and adore my wife, my children, my grandson, and my friends but I wonder, would I have the same love for them if day after day they questioned me, rebelled against things I said and secretly tried to get away with doing things they knew I wouldn't like. But God isn’t that way. He delights in forgiveness, delights in showing me mercy, delights in showing you and me His relentless, steadfast and faithful love. That's the way God is...and that is very Good News!