If you, LORD, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? – Psalm 130:4

Today's Scripture Reading (October 22, 2025): Psalm 129 & 130

Nothing and no one is perfect. And maybe we need to remember that the more someone tries to tell us that something or someone is perfect, the more we need to look at what is going on. Because perfection on this blue marble is simply not possible.

By the way, the reverse is not possible either. No one is totally evil. There is some good in all of us. Whether we let the good out is another question. We exist on a spectrum somewhere between the two extremes. It is one of the reasons why I believe strongly in a concept I call "Original Grace." Long before the fateful moral breakdown of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, God had already prepared the situation with his grace, which is found in the very nature of this world. Life didn't depend on the perfection of Adam and Eve. After the fall, life continued; it might have continued with more pain and stress because of our sin, but it continued. Grace has always been available for us: always, right from the very beginning.

The Psalmist reflects on the lack of perfection. God, if you kept a list of all of the ways that we have failed you, of all the ways that we have let you and those closest to us down, who couldn't stand proudly in your presence. If anyone believes that they have never let God down, they are deluded. Not only that, but their judgment in other matters should also be questioned. Because it is the knowledge of all the ways that we have failed that helps us to move cautiously into the future. We know all of the ways that we have failed and have caused pain in the past, and there is no way that we want to cause that kind of pain again. Reformed Theologian James Montgomery Boice (1938-2000) makes this argument.

Those who have been forgiven are softened and humbled and overwhelmed by God's mercy, and they determine never [again] to sin against such a great and fearful goodness. They do sin, but in their deepest hearts they do not want to, and when they do they hurry back to God for deliverance." (James Montgomery Boice)

Our positive future begins with understanding how we have failed in the past. It starts with accepting the love and forgiveness, the grace that God has already offered to us. And once we understand that, then we fearfully become the agents of grace that this world needs.

Whenever we say that one side is totally evil while the other is good, we become purveyors of the lie, and no good will ever come from us.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 146