Psalm 51:10 Create
in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. (NIV)
Have you ever seen the old
French film called ‘The Red Balloon’? It was made in Paris a year before I was
born and tells the tale of a young boy who is befriended by a red balloon. The
balloon and the boy become inseparable and it follows him all over the streets
of Paris. The film only lasts about 35 minutes and it has been my favorite
movie ever since I first saw it as a young lad.
The film depicts both
happiness and sadness in simple ways and even when a tragedy occurs, there is a
wonderful sequence of hope being renewed at the end of the movie. As I write
this devotion, I can still see the beautiful conclusion in my mind’s eye. I won’t
give it away – you’ll have to watch the movie yourself and be pleasantly
captivated by it.
Sometimes I think that our
individual lives are movies that only God can see. He knows all of the things
that we have done, the moments that have impacted us deeply, the joys we have experienced
and the sadnesses that we still carry. There is nothing hidden from God, so He
could be justified in separating Himself from us after death, but instead He
wants to give us a beautiful conclusion where we become reunited and restored
to Him forever. That’s why King David, in today’s highlighted verse, prayed to God
to clean his heart and renew his spirit: he wanted that beautiful conclusion
which only God’s grace and forgiveness could bring.
Perhaps you feel as though
you’ve done something bad which will separate you from God. Maybe you have a
deep regret about some deed that has put some distance between you and God. If
so, then please know this – God can and will forgive you, just ask Him to do so,
even now as you read this. As the apostle Paul once wrote long ago: ‘For
I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither
the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of
God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ – Romans 8:38-39.
Prayer: Lord God, create
clean hearts within us and renew our spirits this day. In Jesus’ Name, we pray.
Amen.
John Stuart
If you’ve never seen it,
you can freely view the movie online at this link: The Red Balloon.
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