A Big Eraser on Tax Day

Posted on Apr 13, 2015 Topic : Weekly Devotionals

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Psalm 51:1

When an airplane passenger learned his seatmate was a member of Congress, he asked, “Where are you from?”

“Washington,” the congressman replied.

“Which one?” asked the first man. “Tax-eating Washington or tax-paying Washington?”

As a fifth-generation resident of tax-paying Washington, I join many fellow Americans in dreading April 15, the deadline for filing federal income-tax forms. That’s why I was delighted to learn Rubber Eraser Day also occurs on April 15, the date in 1770 when Joseph Priestley discovered that a bit of rubber would remove pencil marks from paper. What a remarkable coincidence! The discovery of a substance capable of removing written mistakes shares a day with a deadline a lot of people wish they could erase from their lives.

Taxes aren’t the only thing most of us would like to see blotted out. Certain liabilities in our memory banks may also tax us. However, we don’t need to be dogged forever by past mistakes. God offers us something better than a big rubber eraser. When we repent and turn to God, he not only wipes out our sins but also sends us times of refreshing (see Acts 3:19).

- “Surely then you will…not keep track of my sin. My offenses will be sealed up in a bag; you will cover over my sin” ( Job 14:16-17).

- “You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19).

If you have already repented of your transgressions, you can be confident God has heard you and has taken care of your payment obligation. Your sins are no longer listed on any celestial report form. On the cross, Christ erased them from your account. While you may still need to make restitution to those you’ve hurt, or you must endure certain consequences of past decisions, the “Amount you owe God” line reads zero, and you no longer have any reason to fear a future Audit Day.

So, on a day that might seem…taxing, let’s rejoice in what our loving, generous God has done for us, no matter where on the taxeating/tax-paying map we may reside.

Gracious heavenly Father, thank you for establishing a spiritual Rubber Eraser Day I can celebrate for the rest of my life. I am deeply grateful for your mercy. Amen