In the aftermath of the big flood, the sole survivors of the human race – Noah and his family – came out of the boat to build an altar and sacrifice burnt offerings to the Lord. In response, the Lord swore the rainbow oath saying that He would never again curse the Earth as He had done even though the human heart is evil from childhood (Genesis 9:13):

I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

There are two camps judging the nature of the human heart: one is the self-loathing “I’m-no-good” camp, the other is the oblivious “it’s-not-my-fault” camp. At first glance, God’s judgment of the human race seems to support the “I’m-no-good” camp; but if we dig a little deeper we will find that God’s intention is not to condemn but to save. And He saves us by removing the one thing that could potentially destroy us (Psalm 103:12):

“As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

There is a walking distance of 12,429 miles between the North and the South Pole. In absence of a West or East Pole the distance between East and West remains undefined and is thereby immeasurable. Metaphorically speaking, this is how far God has removed our sin – immeasurably far – to cleanse and restore us into mint condition.

Looking into the treacherous mirror of self-assessment, our evaluations are mostly tainted and manipulated by our ego or other people. Accepting God’s assessment of us instead, we are blessed indeed. The Lord wants to lift us up, not tear us down.

God sent His Son Jesus into the world to heal our brokenness. Discovering Jesus is similar to getting connected to God’s heartbeat. With our hearts belonging to Him He is able to turn our lives around; He wants to grow us similar to a Gardener tending the soil. Under His care we flourish.