Crazy Love

"Remember O Lord, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
Remember not the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you are good, O Lord.

Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way.
All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
for hose who keep the demands of his covenant.
For the sake of your name, O Lord,
forgive my iniquity, though it is great.
Who, then, is the man that fears the Lord
He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.
He will spend his days in prosperity,
and his descendants will inherit the land.
The Lord confides in those who fear him,
he makes his covenant known to them.
My eyes are ever on the Lord,
for he will release my feet from the snare."
--Psalm 25:6-15

We've all done something stupid in our youth. I'm sure you remember an incident quite clearly when you made a mistake, perhaps knowingly, and the consequences of that action. There's one memory that I can't seem to forget, and I think it's because I was so guilty and ashamed of it. When I was about ten years old, my brother and I were messing around with his skateboard that my mom told us never to play with in the courtyard, and I ended up running it into one of her really expensive planters and completely breaking it. Then, we tried to lie and say we had no idea how it happened, but maybe the dog was trying to dig again? She knew. Of course she knew who it really was. Really, it couldn't have been any more obvious. But surprisingly, we didn't get into nearly as much trouble as we thought we were going to get. There was yelling involved, I'm pretty sure I remember that, but it was more of a sadness than anger. So when this verse pleads with God to, "remember not the sins of my youth," it really strikes me. There are older, more mature examples of course, of what happens when we rebel, but I won't go into those. I'm sure they're clear enough in your mind right now anyways. The psalmist is pleading with the Lord to disregard the sins of youth, but to remember him with love, with his mercy, the great love and mercy that are current, that carry on, that are not left behind in the history books.

The psalmist (David) states many facts about God in this passage as well. He states the fact that "God is good," something I think we need to consciously say out loud more often. He is "good and upright," his "ways are loving and faithful," and it is evident in this passage that he is not only the great Author, the great Creator of life, but He is also the ultimate Instructor. He guides us, He shows us what a life of humility looks like. "Forgive us our iniquity, though it is great." Truthfully, He doesn't even have to do that. There is no reason why He should have to forgive us anything. And yet, He does. And not only does He give us grace on that account, but he furthers it by letting us prosper. Why on earth should He do that? It's completely illogical, really. We have one crazy God of love. Or crazy love, maybe. Either way, it is amazing beyond description. When we fear the Lord, when we view Him with awe, with respect, when we respond to that crazy love with our own, we prosper, we are released from the things which hinder and entangle us, we are able to know His desires, His heart. Our eyes are on Him, we are seeking Him, we are seeking His crazy love. We are released from the entrapment of the world, and as I look around, view the hurt, feel the depth of pain around me, I can't be more grateful that I am released from living a life without hope, without unconditional love. Crazy love. Crazy, beautiful, wonderful love.