“As far as the East is from the West, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Like a father pities his children, so the Lord pities them that fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.”
Psalm 103:12-14
There is a short video about a little boy, maybe three or four years old, contemplating a box of donuts on the kitchen counter. At first, the video does not show the child’s face; his back is turned to the camera as he stands on a chair over the kitchen counter. Off-camera, we simply hear his mother’s admonition, “Don’t touch any of the donuts on the kitchen counter!” His small voice yells back from the kitchen, “O-Kaaaay!”
Unbeknown to the viewing audience, his mother has already told him several times not to touch the donuts. So, stealthy holding the video camera to capture her son’s devious caper from their kitchen’s threshold, his mother asks for the third time, “Did you eat any of the donuts on the kitchen counter?” “-No-ooo.” He replies, seemingly exasperated from the interrogation; his back still facing the camera. Finally, the mother, watching him with the camcorder firmly in hand, continues to videotape her son; and, with his back still towards her; she asks him once again if he has eaten any of the donuts. This time, he turns around and adamantly shouts, “-No!” However, when he faces the camera, his entire face is covered in powdered sugar from the donuts he has already consumed. The entire viewing audience roars with laughter after seeing the boy’s face covered in a confectionery smile.
It is an extremely funny video for a few reasons; first, the mother had already known he was eating the donuts and that her son was lying to her. Second, even at three or four years old, the son knew he was trying to cover his transgression, but didn't realize the evidence was literally all over his face for the world to see. And lastly, onlookers, seeing his face covered in powdered sugar, found the entire event humorous; so, like his mother, most viewers had pity on him for his naiveté.
We can imagine ourselves like that little boy, getting into trouble, not understanding that God sees and knows our weaknesses. He knows when we have been in the powdered sugar, believing we have consumed or destroyed the evidence of our transgression, not realizing that the evidence is clearly splattered all over our face. And, since our lives are so complex, traces of our transgressions are littered, like the remnants of powdered sugar, all over the paths we have walked. Like the little boy in the video, we may say, “No!” with our lips, but our actions disprove our words. We understand why the mother laughed, having pity on the transgression of her son; he clearly did not have a full understanding of his error.
Can you see how easy it was for her to forgive his transgression? Can you see how easy it was for her to dismiss his actions due to his naiveté?
Can you also see how easy it would be to forgive him whether he apologized or not? -And, more importantly, can you see how much more his mother’s heart would melt if he came to her and apologized?
If so, you can understand how much our repentance means to God when we have transgressed against Him, and why His compassion is everlasting when it comes to humanity. -Even in the fullness of our understanding, naive like that small child, God understands that no matter how wonderfully arrayed we are, powdered or not, we are simply dust. L.
Study Reference: Psalm 103:12-14
From: “Powdered Sugar & Dust” In The Master’s Hands II: 365 Daily Devotions For Everyday Living.
Copyright © 2014 by Lavona E. Campbell
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