My sin seems an abyss yawning to devour the whole universe. The heavens, they are finite; but my sin comes against the infinite God, and is therefore an immeasurably expansive evil stretching like the elastic jaws of a snake. I shudder and tremble, but then I behold the crucifix spanning even further, resting firmly as a joist sits over a well. From this cross Jesus descended into the watery depths, down and down. Yes, and at the bottom of this pit he left an empty tomb opening like a drain to receive and seal away all my sins, swallowing them into a still larger abyss, a vast and fathomless ocean of mercy. In the resurrection I discover a vacuum stronger than death.

After a Christian sins, he may collapse into a paralysis of guilt and despair. What he ought to do instead is trust God for mercy, resolve again to live by the Spirit’s power, and keep moving forward. Imagine a soldier stumbling over a trip-wire in a battle; instead of continuing to fight, he just lays there sobbing, “my commander must hate me! I am a failure!” The commander yells back at him, amid the noise of bullets whirring past, “I knew you were weak on your own beforehand, that is why I am with you! Now get up and fight for me and your brothers! You are no good on the ground—stand up, man! Fight!

His mercies are new every morning.” [Lam 3:22-23] Christ rose in the morning to announce victory over sins and death. With every sunrise we find our consciences newly cleansed from condemnation as beneath a fresh sheet of dawn frost. Let your waking be a remembrance you have entered a new world and new life in Him. “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” [Psa. 118:24] Every morning say to your soul, ‘today is full of new mercies.’