A Record to Lose

“If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” (Psalm 130:3).
Do you hold any records of which you’re particularly proud? Perhaps you were a very gifted student and got straight A’s all the way through school. Maybe as a driver, you have never received a speeding ticket or a citation of any kind. Perhaps you were part of a safety record in a manufacturing plant or another place of employment—hundreds of days of operation without any accidents of any kind. Could it be that you were part of a team that amassed a flawless record over the course of a season?
Records are often a source of pride, and rightly so. Other records, however, are noteworthy for less appealing reasons. Mankato, Minnesota, was the site of the largest mass execution in United States history (that record still stands). Frank Tanana, a long-time Detroit Tiger pitcher, is in the record books as third on the all-time list of “home runs allowed” in a career. When I was in high school, a little college nearby hadn’t won a game in over 7 seasons, a new collegiate record!  That dubious distinction even earned them some ink in Sports Illustrated that year.
Some records are much better when they are lost. That is the kind of record the psalmist speaks about—a record of sins against the Lord God. Can you imagine what your rap sheet would look like? We should pause to consider, with the psalmist, all of the sinful thoughts that have entered our minds, the wicked words that have toppled off of our tongues, the atrocious actions that have been produced by our hands—and not just today, but a lifelong record. Who of us could stand before God with such a record of wrongdoing against us? The question requires no answer, of course. Even a record tsunami could not produce a fraction of the destruction that our record of sin deserves. There would be no one left standing before God.
But the operative word from the psalmist is the little one, “if.” “If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins…” Did the Lord God lose His homework somewhere? Did He misplace His log book, His record of sins? While it is true that the record is gone, it certainly wasn’t misplaced or lost. It was the Lord’s good and gracious purpose that it be lost. “With the Lord there is forgiveness.” Forgiveness speaks not to an accidental losing—not to an absent-minded misplacing. Forgiveness says the Lord arranged for this devastating record to be taken away to spare sinners like you and me from destruction and death.
Paul elaborates a bit on the Lord’s forgiveness plan, saying, “God made you alive with Christ. He forgave you all your sins…that stood opposed to you; He took it away, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13-14). Our record of sin wasn’t lost, but the punishment of its guilt was lost to you and me. Jesus, the Christ, took it upon Himself. Like the Israelites’ scapegoat, Jesus took that sin and guilt away from you and me to a solitary place, to the cross. There He willingly absorbed the punishment of sin for you and me. Your record of sins did not get lost. Look to Christ and His cross—that is where you’ll find your record. It has been taken away by the Lamb of God—Jesus Christ!
Kyle Madson is co-pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Frankenmuth, Michigan.