Most things in life can't be understood in formulaic terms. Except maybe this one thing. I can't help but think that the parallelism in this verse hints at some degree of "this equals that:"
He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. (Ps 103:3)
The context surrounding this one verse pertains to recognizing the good things God has given to me, and the good thing He is in the process of making my life about. And that uniting theme which He is increasingly making my life be about is the reflection of Him in all my life's circumstances and all my heart's aches and desires-- to make every element of my life cohere into agreement with one central theme, that is, to exhibit His character of goodness, restoration, and redeeming love for me and for all people.
So I think it's a safe inference, based on sentence structure and context, to say that forgiveness is one of those devices by which God gives the good to me. It is a highway by which he extracts the bad I have done before it poisons my identity. But He removes it in such a way that I still remember, still experience a sting from what I've done. That way, I have a new, vital awareness of my own part in and responsibility for harming His creation or tarnishing the state He intended it to be in. So, forgiveness teaches me without jading me, or letting me unjustly off the hook and equally prone to commit the same damaging act again.
Forgiveness -- God's forgiveness extended to us, to be exact -- is a complete, comprehensive thing (note: "all"). God is not a selective Forgiver. He's about restoring the whole house, not just a room. In that way, God's brand of forgiveness is a creative act aimed at refurbishing what was lost and bringing it back to its former condition.
I study God's forgiveness in order to understand His design for how I forgive others for the ways they have damaged, harmed, or tarnished me, as well. It's true that once transgressed against, I am and can no longer be the way I was before. But I am not worse off than I was before I was hurt, and here is why.
God is interested not only in forgiving, but in healing. That is, He cares not only about restoring me to a spiritual state in which He and I can get along, but also in restoring me to a mental-emotional state in which I can function and even blossom and bloom. That is, He doesn't just come over to my house to repair its toilets, clear its defunct drainage, paint its walls, brighten its windows, and spruce up its hallways, so that I don't have to be ashamed of the condition it's in. He also comes to remove the things within it that could make me sick: He cleans its carpets, clears its airducts, and removes its pests. He gets into the seen parts that are making me unhappy, uncomfortable, and downtrodden in spirit, sure enough -- but He also gets into the unseen parts and removes the latent illness that lies there. He cares that much. He gets into my heart and tends to the bitterness rooting and growing there with some very special kind of Round-Up. He sees the pain that is killing some precious hope and faith in His goodness that was once there or was once more intact, and as he administers forgiveness, he is submerging me in a bath of healing. He is removing the stains and dirt, and he is applying balm.
Talk about being able to live again! Friend, come over to my house! I am proud of what He's done in here...
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