Giving and Forgiving

In worship this morning at my church we sang one of my favorite hymns: Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee. I love the words and Beethoven's music is without equal. As we were singing, we came to one of my favorite lines Thou art giving and forgiving.
I think that when I was growing up I liked this line because it seemed like a clever use of words. However, now I embrace their deep truth. God is indeed giving and forgiving. In this brief phrase is revealed much about Who God is.
God gives. Jesus tells us that God loved the world that God gave God's only Son. God's first instinct is to give. In creating all that is, God gave us all that we need. When Adam was alone, God gave him Eve. When the Hebrew people cried out under the yoke of slavery in Egypt, God gave them their freedom and a land of their own. Over and over again, God gives not because people deserve it but because giving is God's nature.
God also forgives. When the people rebelled against God and grumbled as they wandered in the desert, God forgave. When the Israelites broke God's laws and forgot who they were as God's chosen people, God sent prophets to call them back into covenant relationship. When Jesus hung on the cross, he cried out to his Father for mercy asking God to forgive his executors because they did not know what they were doing. Forgiveness is a part of God's essence.
It was good to once again be reminded again today in worship that God gives and forgives. Without what God has given me, I would have nothing. I have accomplished nothing without God's grace. I have a home, a car, a job, clothes, and this computer that I blog on because God has given them all to me.
In the same way, I would be nothing without the power of God's forgiveness. My sin is a weight that would forever sink me into death and destruction. I am broken and selfish and foolish and arrogant and judgmental and rude and gluttonous and self-centered and on and on. However, all that is forgiven in Christ Jesus. His death and resurrection have it all covered. God forgives and breathes mercy and grace into my life each and every day.
So, tonight I'm giving thanks to my God Who gives and forgives. Thanks for being a part of my journey!