Observation: To Moses on the mountain, the Lord declares who the Lord is: merciful and gracious, abounding in steadfast love to the Thousandth generation, visiting iniquity on the third and fourth generation of those who sin. So, for the math majors out there, that means the Lord shows between 250 and 333 times more love than judgment. This is all poetic language of course, but if you took it literally, we'd still have several centuries left of that original steadfast love shown to Moses and the people. But in fact, God has recommitted many times.
Application: I am pretty sure I myself am not working on a 333 to 1 Love/Judgment ratio. In fact, I'd say even 1 to 1 would be pretty good for me, and indeed for most of us. Even 2 to 1 would be nothing short of miraculous. This reminds me of Jesus' command to forgive those who sin against us "seventy times seven times." It seems almost ludicrous, naive, logistically impossible, strategically dangerous. But that's exactly what God does for us. Despite constant betrayals of trust, God has stood by us. And as we reflect on that, it empowers us to start working on that Love/Judgment ratio. Let's give up grudges for Lent.
Prayer: God, forgive us our sins, and empower us to forgive those who sin against us. Amen.
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