What the Deepest Place on Earth Teaches About God’s Forgiveness

The deepest place on earth lies nearly 11 kilometres (almost 7 miles) beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean. Known as the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, it is so deep that sunlight never reaches its floor. If Mount Everest—the world’s tallest mountain—were lowered into the trench, its peak would still remain almost two kilometres below the ocean’s surface.

It is difficult to imagine anything disappearing into such unfathomable depths. Yet the Bible uses a similar picture to describe one of God’s greatest promises—the complete forgiveness of sins.

No one in the world can boast of a sin-free life. Everyone has secrets that they have never shared with anyone. To have some of our dark thoughts or actions exposed would cause painful shame and profound embarrassment.

People go to great lengths to cover their darker actions. They delete their online history. They wipe their hard drive. They create an alibi to cover the evidence of their involvement. They deny they had anything to do with it. People bury the evidence and do whatever it takes to distance themselves from the sin they have committed.

It is one thing to successfully hide our sins from our family, our friends, our employer or our community – but not one sin is hidden from God.

We are adept at covering our sins horizontally but powerless to hide them vertically – to block them from God’s view. And that’s a problem!

Would you feel better if you knew your sins were completely out of God’s sight? Would you sleep better if you knew God could no longer see your sins? Would the uneasy feeling deep within your being be relieved if you knew your sins were no longer on God’s radar screen? If your darkest secrets were removed from the all-seeing eyes of God, would your load in life be lighter?

Have you ever wished that every dark and sinful thing in your life could simply disappear forever?

The Mariana Trench helps us picture what God has done for those who trust His Son.

At 10.9 kilometres below sea level, the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the deepest known place on earth. If you dropped a priceless diamond ring into those depths, you would never expect to see it again. If Mount Everest could be submerged into the trench, the summit of the world’s highest mountain would still be buried two kilometres beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

 

Mariana Trench Location Below

 

Very deep indeed! But could your sins ever be buried that deeply?

Before answering that question, consider five important facts from the Bible.

Fact 1

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  Romans 3:23, Holy Bible

Every one of us stands guilty before a holy God.

Fact 2

Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities [sins] have separated you from your God… Isaiah 59:1-2, Holy Bible

Our greatest problem is not simply guilt – it is separation from God.

Fact 3

Christ died for our sins. 1Corinthians 15:3, Holy Bible

At Calvary, on the Cross, the Lord Jesus willingly took the punishment our sins deserved.

Fact 4

The blood of Jesus Christ, His [God’s] Son, cleanses us from all sin. 1John 1:7, Holy Bible

Notice that wonderful little word—all. No sin is too great for God’s forgiveness when a sinner comes to Christ in genuine repentance and faith.

Fact 5

Through this Man [Jesus] is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things… Acts 13:38-39, Holy Bible

God offers complete forgiveness through His Son.

The God of Forgiveness

In both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, the Holy God is presented as the One who delights to forgive sin. He can forgive every one of your sins without compromising His perfect holiness – Heaven’s standards. Justice was served 2000 years ago on a cross outside Jerusalem. Jesus Christ took the penalty for your sins and mine when He died on the Cross.

Because Christ bore our judgment, God can remove our sins forever.

In the Old Testament prophecy of Micah, we read about God’s willingness to pardon and His delight to show mercy.

Who is a God like You, who pardons sin … [You] delight to show mercy. Micah 7:18

Then comes one of the most beautiful pictures of forgiveness found anywhere in the Bible.

You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:19

Micah knew nothing about the Mariana Trench or the Challenger Deep. Yet under God’s inspiration, he chose the perfect illustration. The deepest place imaginable helps us appreciate the completeness of God’s forgiveness.

When God forgives your sin, they are out of sight and gone forever!

While scientists continue to explore the depths of the Mariana Trench, no submarine has ever recovered everything that has disappeared into the deepest parts of the ocean. Yet God’s promise is even greater than that. Unlike the Mariana Trench, God’s forgiveness isn’t merely about depth—it is about complete removal.

When God forgives a sinner through faith in Jesus Christ, those sins will never again stand between that person and God.

Another Bible verse expresses the same wonderful truth:

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12

Some of us have enjoyed the peace of sins forgiven for a long time. We remember when we called out to God in repentance and by faith, turned to the Lord Jesus Christ and experienced God’s wonderful salvation. Our sins no longer separate us from God. Hell is no longer our fear. Heaven is our Home.

The Mariana Trench gives us an unforgettable picture. Our sins are gone – out of sight forever! Would you like yours to be gone too? We point you to the Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ –

In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace… Ephesians 1:7

Sources:

Mariana Trench – Mt. Everest Comparison