Creating beauty
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgement.
Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.
You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and sustain in me a willing spirit.
Psalm 51:1-12
David makes this confession and cries for forgiveness after Nathan confronts him about Bathsheba. I appreciate David’s imagery and nuanced way of his confession. He acknowledges his sin and own brokenness while desiring the refreshing experience of being washed or purified and restored to a place of joy. It was only recent that I sat with his line, “Create in me a clean heart o God” and saw with new eyes.
We can treat confession and repentance as a remorseful and guilt-stricken process that leaves us beating ourselves over the head with the Bible. Yet notice that David’s lyrical confession is fascinated and takes delight in the refreshing renewal that comes in God’s forgiveness. Later on, he identifies God’s command for a contrite heart but embraces the notion as a shift in humility.
David asks God to “Create,” which resonates with God’s creative Spirit in creation. When I paint, I find great joy in looking at a blank canvas and stirring up my imagination to unlock limitless ideas to create. The creative mind looks beyond the blank canvas, the lump of clay, the pile of Legos, or the empty page and sees the possibilities of a masterpiece. Mistakes are not a hindrance or prevent the Creator from completing the masterpiece, but they become a part of the beauty that testifies to the brilliance of the Creator. David invokes God’s brilliance and waits in great anticipation to experience the “new and right spirit” that God was going to make.
David was not completely derailed and destroyed by the guilt of his sins. Instead, he confidently returned to the One in whom could Create beauty from his own brokenness. He longed to experience the joy of salvation. Redemption or forgiveness is a magnificent and beautiful act of creating.
Lent is a time of self-reflection and repentance, but it doesn’t have to be a guilt-ridden heavy process that leaves us destroyed. Like David, we need to be reminded to return to the Creator in need of a “new thing” in our own lives and find a sense of satisfaction in his renewal. Repentance is the process of seeking restoration in the hopes of experiencing Joy. It is a beautiful moment when the Creator of a painting, pottery, story, or Lego masterpiece, recognizes the mistake, changes, amends, and maintains the creating process. No mistake or sin is too great for our God to bring healing and redemption.
Don’t let shame keep you from experiencing the refreshing moment of forgiveness as a relationship is restored. Take delight in grace and learn to trust in God’s forgiveness.
Repentance in Lent is usually initiated by “giving something up” or fasting from something in order to draw closer to God. Fasting is a deep spiritual discipline that sparks the heart and heightens our awareness for God. Yet, another discipline that can be taken this season is Forgiveness. Make it a priority to see forgiveness. Be quick to forgive and even quicker to ask forgiveness. Be intentional this season to create rhythms of restoration. Instead of provoking others, be gentle and willing to listen. Lay down the sarcastic comments and take on loving restorative actions. Ask more questions to generate a loving curiosity when you are tempted to make loud statements.
No matter what you do, or don’t do this season, be intentional to deepen your relationship with our God. Let yourself be caught up in God’s grace. Find yourself invigorated with the refreshing spirit of God’s forgiveness. You are loved. You are a great masterpiece of our Creator God, and he can work through and redeem any of your messy mistakes. When you begin to doubt the power of his love and forgiveness look to the cross and the power of his love.
