Far Away

By Greg Laurie, Op-ed contributor Thursday, March 12, 2009

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. — Psalm 103:12

The paralyzed man, who was brought by his friends to Jesus for healing, had been lowered through a hole in the roof (Luke 5:17–26). He was lying there on his bed right in front of Jesus. Jesus looked down at him. Every eye in the room was on this man. Then he looked up into the very eyes of God incarnate.

I believe Jesus looked at this man and smiled. Then Jesus told him, " 'Man, your sins are forgiven you' " (Luke 5:20).

I believe that when this man looked into the eyes of Jesus, he knew those words were true. He knew Jesus had taken away his sins. He wasn't afraid any longer.

The verb used here for the word forgiven has the basic meaning of sending or driving something away. "Your sins are driven away from you," is what Jesus essentially said.

King David wrote, "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:12).

I want to say to you in the same way, you have nothing to be afraid of. You can be forgiven, too. When you come to Jesus, He will remove your sins from you as far as the east is from the west!

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