He Forgets to Remember

July 15

We don’t want to hold grudges. We like to think that we are among the rare few truly honorable people on the planet who can genuinely ‘forgive and forget.’ But the reality is that most of us aren’t like that at all. When we think we’ve totally let go of the pain of someone’s barbed comment or unkind action, it still stings upon reflection.

Not only does the memory cause discomfiture, it also causes distrust. We are reluctant to interact in the same way with someone whose trustworthiness has come in question. How blessed we are that the Lord, the Holy One, the Righteous God doesn’t harbor the same attitude toward us!

We have offended Him time and again. Our sins against Him, our ‘weaknesses,’ have reared their ugly head repeatedly. The magnitude of our sins may vary—we tend to see them as significant and insignificant transgressions, as venial or mortal sins—but in His eyes, all sin is the breaking of His immutable law. Breaking it in one ‘jot or tittle’ makes us worthy of punishment, condemns us to eternal death. But, Jesus has paid the price! He sees us washed clean by the power of His shed blood that was spilled in our behalf!

As Paul said, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through HIM, the law of the Spirit of life has set us free from the law of sin and death” Romans 8:1,2. God cleanses us because of Christ and then chooses to forget each recurring transgression when we simply ask Him to do so. Jeremiah 31:34 declares, “…all men shall know Me…I shall forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more.” How blessed we are that He remembers to forgive our sins then forgets to remember them!