Forgive

..and forget

March 24, 2009 (Tuesday)
Willie Nelson wrote these honest words: “Forgiving you was easy, but forgetting seems to take the longest time.”
The two steps in this process are “forgiving” and “forgetting.” Neither is easy for most people. Let’s take a look at each.
Forgive. Forgiveness is something Jesus talked about a lot. You knew his teachings were getting through if you overheard Peter when he came up to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you seven times but seventy times seven.” This is just one of many quotes from Jesus on the subject. Suffice it to say Jesus thought forgiveness was extremely important and necessary.
Forget. Step two of the process. Forgive and forget. Easily said. Difficultly done. The hard truth for us is that we simply never forget. We may want to, and we may try, but come on, be honest about it, we don’t, do we? About the best we can do is to say, well, I won’t hold it against that person. But forget? Hardly.
God forgives and forgets. This is the good news and the main point of this blog. Don’t you just love the little chorus that declares, “Gone, gone, gone, gone! Yes, my sins are gone! They’re underneath the blood of the cross of Calvary, as far removed as darkness is from dawn, in the sea of God’s forgetfulness, that’s good enough for me! Praise God! My sins are gone!” God forgives and forgets.