SEARCHLIGHT
Do you hold any resentment or bitterness toward anyone? Are you able to fully forgive?
SCRIPTURE
Love….it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 1 Corinthians 13:5b,6 NIV
SPOTLIGHT
You say you forgive but you do not forget. Two brothers had been fighting all day. The mother had tried everything to bring peace and resolution between the warring parties. She had asked them to forgive each other. Both boys refused. Then she bribed, threatened, and pleaded. All tactics were unsuccessful.
Just before bedtime, the mother decided to appeal to the older brother’s maturity and sentiment one last time. Passionately she said, “Son, wouldn’t you feel absolutely terrible if your little brother died during the night and you hadn’t forgiven him? Wouldn’t you be sorry?” The older brother went out of the room to think. Upon returning he said, “All right, I’ll forgive him but if he is alive in the morning…”
If you truly love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, then you will be able to forgive and forget. Forgetting does not mean that a wrong will be obliterated from your memory but it does mean that you will no longer be consumed with the memory. Your mind will not continually rehearse the grievance but instead will choose to forget that it happened. This is what 1 Corinthians 13, known as the love chapter, teaches. Forgiving and forgetting are not to be separated. When you forgive, you do not keep a record of how many times you have forgiven. Instead, you choose not to “keep score of the sins of others.” [1 Corinthians 13:5b, The Message]
It may be difficult, but God commands that you forgive. Colossians 3:13 states, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Think about it! Since becoming a believer, having been saved by God’s grace and mercy, your quality of life has greatly increased knowing you are forgiven. God’s forgiveness has impacted your physical, mental, and emotional make up. You function best knowing you are forgiven. This is why you need to remind yourself of how God has forgiven you. Note 3 ways below.
First there is no condemnation. Isaiah 38:17 states, “Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back.” Hezekiah realized God had forgiven his sin. God had put all his sin out of his Divine sight. What that means for you is this. Having confessed your sin, God no longer even sees your confessed sin. He forgave you by paying the penalty for your sin and then He forgot that He had to do that for you. He did not condemn you to be punished as you so rightly deserved. In absolutely no way are you condemned by God. The Bible emphatically states in Romans 8:1. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” All God sees is that you are His born-again child.
Second, there is no guilty conscience. Psalm 103:12 states, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” David realized God had not only forgiven and forgotten his sin, but God wanted him to do the same. God wanted him to put all of his sin out of his own sight. What that means for you is this. If God will not remember your confessed sin, neither do you have to remember it. You need not have a guilty conscience.
Thirdly, there is no criticism. Micah 7:19 states, “You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.” The prophet realized God had not only forgiven and forgotten, but also, freed him of people recalling his past. God had put all of his sin out of the public’s sight. What that means is God will not allow anyone to see your confessed sin. Therefore, you will not be criticized.
When God forgives, He forgives completely, no condemnation, no guilty conscience, and no criticism. This divine forgiveness has led you to great freedom and fulfillment. God’s
forgiveness has led you to function best in life. And this is what God would have you to do to others. He will empower you to experience both FORGIVING AND FORGETTING. No longer will you be waiting for the person who wronged you to be punished. Neither will you try to remember what that person did and no longer will you be critical of that person. You will be free.
SOMETHING TO DO
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you examine your heart to see if you hold any resentment or bitterness toward anyone.
SOUL TIME PRAYER
Heavenly Father, I want to be able to forgive and forget…completely…just as You have forgiven me. Fill me with Your Divine powerful love. No longer do I want to record or rehearse anyone who does me wrong. AMEN!