When you buy pencils these days, you have two options - just an ordinary pencil, or more likely one capped with an eraser. Have you ever thought that to be rather strange? Why should the manufacturers of pencils provide an eraser as well? It's because they know that we all make mistakes.

When we are writing we may be careless in recording something that is incorrect, or we have made a spelling mistake. We might have drawn something and put a line in the wrong place. What the manufacturers of pencils are saying in effect is that we all err and fall short of perfection. And it's true. No one who uses a pencil to write a note, record a 'phone number, does a crossword, take a message or draw a picture, can be sure of not making a mistake. That little piece of rubber on the end of a pencil can be both useful and convenient.

Isn't that true of life? As we look back over the year we can all think of incidents that could have been avoided, words that should not have been said, foolish acts and failures and faults that should not have occurred. Some of those things might have caused someone unhappiness, inconvenience or even harm.

Jesus relates an incident in the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant. It speaks of a king who erased a debt owed by a servant because of an inability to pay. Yet that same servant refused to rub out a much smaller amount owed to him and had the debtor thrown into prison. When the king heard about this he was furious and had the servant handed over to the jailers. The Apostle Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive someone who sinned against him. Should it be up to seven times? "Not seven times," said Jesus, "but seven times seventy."

Psalm 32, verse 5 tells us that if we acknowledge our sin to God and don't try to conceal it, He will forgive us. Just as we can break a pencil, so our pride must be broken, but not as easily.

Let us be thankful that God will erase all our transgressions, our faults and our errors, if we ask for His forgiveness. Like the rubber on the end of a pencil, as He writes so He will erase, if we repent and come to Him.

Have a good week. Pastor Ron

Optional Bible reading: Psalm 32