Sylvia would love to hear your thoughts about this week's encounter.        Please send them to sylvia@pastorsylvia.com

He Remembers Our Sins No More

A terrible thing happened after my 65th birthday. I bumped into some kind of memory vortex that has not gone away. Today I stood in the laundry room and had no idea what I intended to do when I got there.

In my defense, a relatively small contingent of brain cells sent me to the laundry, while a significantly large number of brain cells were focused on something entirely different. But that isn’t much comfort when I’m standing in front of the open door of the refrigerator, or pawing through my purse for no good reason.

When is forgetting a good thing? God demonstrates how it works, and it has everything to do with Holy Week.

“Forget about it.” In my experience people only use that phrase in two situations. The first is when they are making a hackneyed attempt at a New Jersey accent, usually connected in some way to “The Godfather.” Then it comes out “fuhgettaboudit.” (By the way, that movie came out in 1972—fifty-two years ago! Isn’t it about time that we lose the Mafia accent?)

The other circumstance where people commonly say, “Forget about it,” is when we are extending forgiveness to someone for a minor offense. For instance, if someone says, “I’m sorry I ate the last donut. I didn’t realize you didn’t get one.” Then I’d probably answer, “It’s no big deal. Forget about it.” Admittedly, there’s a good chance that my forgetfulness wouldn’t be permanent. I’d probably be the first one in line the next time someone served donuts. That’s not going to happen to me twice!

In the Book of Hebrews we are told God said, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” (Heb 8:12) But how does that work?

I realize that when we confess our sins to God, Jesus Christ saves us from the eternal and justified consequences. But is our omnipotent God really able to forget my transgressions? There are some that I am pretty sure I will never forget.

The answer is “yes.” God forgives us, and then He remembers our sins no more. 

The prophet Isaiah quotes God saying the same thing. First, He tells the Israelites that they have not honored Him. Then God says, “But you have burdened Me with your sins, you have wearied Me with your iniquities. I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” (Isaiah 43:24-25)

I can chuckle at my own forgetfulness. I can even chortle when my husband and friends share their eldercare moments. But do I really want to utter my heartfelt prayers to God if He has dementia?

Some people may struggle theologically with the idea that God could forget something. He is omniscient, which means He knows everything. But how could He know everything if He deliberately purges information from His data banks?

Forgiving and forgetting are like dancing the 2-Step. You’ll never work your way across the dance floor until both your feet are moving together to the same music.

God forgives us because of what His Son did on the cross. Jesus made it possible for my worst mistakes to be forgiven and commands that I also forgive. But there is a step that comes after forgiveness: forgetting. Because the debt has been paid for our offense, God will not take any more action against us. He forgets because there is nothing owed, nothing to regret, nothing bad to remember.

Only Jesus nailed to the cross in all its ugly, torturous agony could free us from the eternal consequences of our unrighteousness. No one else. Nothing else.  

Likewise, after we forgive someone who has hurt us, we can choose to take no action on our hurt feelings—not in our thoughts, our words, or our actions. Whenever it comes to mind, we simply choose to “fuhgettaboudit” and move on.

Perhaps selective dementia is a skill worth developing. Perhaps Holy Week is the best time to practice it. 

RECENT COLUMNS

The Bottle Tree

Making New Lists

Beachcombing in Lent

Do You Have a Super Power?

Resilience As A Path To Holiness

What is the Wallet Analogy?

The Pygmalion Effect

What is Your Story

Encouraged by Pooh

It's Who Owns Us

Whose Faith Will You Copy?

What I Want in the New Year

A Christmas Letter From Jesus - 2023

Remembering That Santa and God Work Together

Mystery of the Holy Night

What Did She Know

A Soft and Grateful Heart