There are times when the garbage just has to go.  Spoiled casseroles that got buried behind other leftovers in the refrigerator until it was too late.  Fat or grease that festered in the wastebasket over the course of a several hot Summer days.  The smelly remains of our fish dinner from last evening’s meal.  Overflowing baby diapers left to ripen.  Kitty-litter.

We’ve all been there.  Rank odors waft from our disposal containers signaling it’s time to transfer the putrid mess to a more removed location.  So, holding our breath, we whisk the offending material away.  What a relief it is to drop that bag in the trash barrel in the alley!  Even better when on “trash day” the trash truck arrives, tips up the barrel, flips it over and shakes the smelly contents out, swings the empty barrel back in its place and then rumbles away.  And just like magic our garbage is gone!

Each of us generates trash every day.  The EPA estimates that the average American produces almost 6 pounds of trash per day.  If recycling is factored in, the amount drops to about 4 ½ pounds of pure waste.  Even so, the typical person racks up over a total of 29 pounds per week and 1,600 pounds of garbage in just one year!

The estimate for the annual weight of the garbage that all humans worldwide generate is 2.6 trillion pounds.  (This doesn’t include industrial waste or commercial trash.)  The United States is the top producer of “municipal solid waste” in the entire world, generating about 268 million tons yearly.

Where does this heaping mound of garbage go?  Over half (52%) ends up in landfills.  26% makes its way to recycling centers, and another 13% to waste-to-energy plants.  9% is composted.  While we probably don’t reflect on its destination much, we certainly are delighted when our rotting and reeking refuse is gone.

Hard as it is to fathom, we all produce garbage even more noxious than the bags we transport to the alley at arms-length.  Our lying and cursing tongues; our coveting, lusting and hating minds; our detestable pride or lingering despair; our countless sins of action and inaction; our incessant idolatry; and our neglect of God and the good, raise a sickening stench to the holy Lord.

The logical conclusion was for God to discard our smelly selves far from him.  But the Lord had a different plan.  Instead of disposing of us in entirety, he determined to simply dispose of our stench, (our sin), and keep the rest of us.  So the Lord Jesus came to dwell among us, to love us and in love to let us crucify him.  He took our place, wearing our sin-stench and bearing our sin-punishment. When he exited his tomb on Easter morning, he cast death behind him and our sins far from him (and us!).

How far has our unholy reek been removed?  The Bible provides some impressive pictures to illustrate the distance.

“Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives transgression?  You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.  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 7:18-19).

Just for reference, the deepest depression in the earth is in the Pacific Ocean.  It’s known as Challenger Deep, a portion of the Mariana Trench.  It dives to a depth of more than 36,000 feet.  That’s almost 7 miles deep; a significant burial indeed for our sin! 

Or how about this concept?  The Holy Spirit inspired David to write these lovely words:

“The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.  He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us”  (Psalm 103:8-12).

Saying goodbye to our sin garbage is the best goodbye of all, which makes our gracious God the best Trashman of all!  Thank you, Lord!