The title of this article, popularised by Grammarly, is a distortion of a verse from the 18th century poem, by Alexander Pope. He wrote, “To err is human; to forgive, divine.” And forgiveness is what we need. For, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. They were good. Very good. Intrinsically excellent. Beautifully good. Idyllic. But after Eden, it is human to err.
After Eden, it is human to err.
We wrongly aspired to divinity and rejected the Divine. Men and women fell from grace. So we’re born in sin. David understood this (Psalm 51:5). Corruption even creeps into our DNA. While the title of this article is a variation of that famous line in Pope’s poem, it is nonetheless a helpful lens for reflecting upon sanctification. It is divine to edit.
The Divine Editor, Our Gracious God
We can no more save ourselves than a document can edit itself.
After we respond to the gospel and God the Father declares us righteous, he sends his Spirit to sanctify us. He rewrites our life story, each a glorious chapter in the chronicles of grace. Word by word. Line by line. Paragraph by paragraph. When Christ returns or the redeemed in Christ die, we are glorified. The editing and refining will be completed. No more nonsensical lives or hurtful words. The divine work will have done what the error-strewn life could not achieve. Everything sad will come untrue.
We can no more save ourselves than a document can edit itself. And forgiveness can only flow because Jesus took our sin and shame upon himself on that brutal tree, the cross.
Seek His Gracious Correction
How do we respond to such a great salvation? By pursuing the Hound of Heaven, who first sought us.
We must submit to the will of the faithful and ultimate Editor.
We must willingly yield to the Holy Spirit, the One who comes alongside us. God commands that we strive for holiness (Hebrews 12:14). What a joy to find sure hope and deep belonging. Human responsibility and God’s work intertwine in a writer-editor relationship to make sinners like their Saviour. Incrementally. Beautifully. Indeed, this is the will of God (1 Thessalonians 4:3). We must submit to the will of the faithful and ultimate Editor, who, as Alexander Pope penned, is the only One who can forgive.
Long for the Final Draft
We will not attain perfection on this side of heaven. But, as John Newton confessed in his latter years, albeit paraphrased, “I am not the man I ought to be, I am not the man I wish to be, and I am not the man I hope to be, but by the grace of God, I am not the man I used to be.” But one day, faith will become sight. The final chapter will close, only for the redeemed to become perfected characters in the most astounding, wondrous story, planned before the creation of the universe.
