God’s Undo Button

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” - 1 John 1:7

We recently attended a college graduation where the speaker talked about the undo button in most computer programs. He made the point that the undo button made it possible for the graduates to write papers without fear of messing up – they could just undo the errors they made. Having graduated in the 1980s, the speaker said he typed his papers on a typewriter and was fearful of making mistakes because it was hard to correct them. He encouraged them to not be fearful of making mistakes in their lives, knowing they could always go back and redo any failures like a real-life undo button.

As I listened to that, I appreciated his encouragement for them, but I realized that we do not get an undo button for the effects of our sin. Instead, the effect of our sin is more like White-Out – the correction fluid used to cover up mistakes on typed papers. With the undo button, the only person who knows a correction was made is the person who wrote the paper. With White-Out, it leaves a mark. Even though the student cannot be penalized for any mistake they made, the instructor can see mistakes were made.

We see the White-Out in our lives as we remember the sinful things we did. There may be lost relationships, lost freedom or lost jobs because of our sin. We may have a permanent physical reminder of our sin. Even though the sin is gone, the effects remain like the White-Out over a mistake. Those closest to us see the White-Out in our lives and know the sin underneath because they likely have suffered the consequences of our sin long after the sin has been covered.

When Christians sin, we are to repent. Peter said that when we do, our sins will be blotted out (Acts 3:19), but they are blotted out by something far better than White-Out; they are covered by Christ’s blood (1 John 1:7). We actually become righteous through His blood (2 Corinthians 5:21), and our sins are removed as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). In other words, there is no trace of sin when God looks at us. Giving us Christ’s righteousness is truly an undo button for our sins. We will not be reminded eternally of the sins we committed by God or others.

This does not mean that we will carelessly forget the price that was paid for our sin. Even though there is no longer any trace of sin when God looks at us, there will always be a physical reminder of our sin on Jesus’ hands and side because of the sin He bore on the cross (John 20:27). May we never stop thanking God for His mercy through Jesus, and may we never become complacent and forget the ultimate price that was paid for the forgiveness of our sins.