https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/ece-devotions/20250825ECME.mp3

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.

Imagine standing at a door so narrow that you can’t carry anything with you through it. No bags, no boxes, not even your own accomplishments. In order to walk through, you must come completely empty-handed.

That’s what Jesus meant when He said the way to life is narrow. Not everyone enters, and not because God isn’t loving. It’s because our sinful hearts want to bring baggage. That sinful nature inside all of us yearns to carry our excuses for why we just couldn’t measure up, to bring with us our pride for our own good works that must have been good enough. But those won’t fit through the narrow door.

God’s Word wounds us when it reveals this. We want to believe we’re “good enough.” We want our service in ministry, our kindness and generosity, or our patience with little ones to earn us a place in God’s kingdom. But Psalm 103 gently corrects that thinking. “He does not treat us as our sins deserve.” That’s the wound: we are sinners who deserve judgment.

But here comes the healing: “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

That is good news! God doesn’t hold your sins against you. He doesn’t demand payment from you. He has already shown you compassion in sending his Son, Jesus, to do it all for us – not to just fill in where we didn’t quite measure up, not to complete the good works we couldn’t quite get to. No, he did it all, and he did it perfectly for you – not because you earned it, but because he is gracious. The door may be narrow, but it is open wide through Jesus.

It’s easy to measure your value by what you do. But God measures you solely by what Christ has done in your place. And in him you are anything but empty handed. You are forgiven, loved, and welcomed through the door that leads to life eternal.

Heavenly Father, thank you for your mercy and compassion. Forgive me for the times I’ve tried to earn your love or carry my own pride through the narrow door. Help me to trust in Christ alone, knowing that his love removes all my sin. Amen.

What “baggage” am I trying to carry that keeps me from fully trusting God’s grace today?