Forgive and Forget

Have you ever “forgiven” someone, but at the same time decided that you wouldn’t forget what the other person had done? Or in the middle of an argument, did you bring up past conflicts to weaken your opponent’s arguments and assert your own will? Sometimes it’s hard for us to truly let go because our wounds run deep, and we want to avoid being hurt again at all costs.

In the book of Colossians, it says: "As the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive." God forgives us even when we don’t deserve it, and He doesn’t constantly bring up our mistakes. Forgiveness doesn’t simply mean "forgetting" or pretending nothing happened. It means meeting the other person with gentleness and understanding, without using old wounds as weapons. Of course, the pain doesn’t disappear immediately, but forgiveness invites us to live with those memories, trusting that forgiveness is the medicine that ensures our pain will eventually fade. This way, we experience inner freedom and can live in peace in the here and now, trusting that God wants and will heal our relationships.

An example of forgiveness can be found in the words of God through the prophet Isaiah and in the book of Hebrews. In Isaiah, God says: "I am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins." God shows us here that He deliberately lets go of our wrongdoings without holding them against us – a sign of His grace. The book of Hebrews describes this "not remembering" as a conscious decision: God no longer recalls our sins, even though He doesn’t literally "forget" them. It is a deliberate choice not to bring up our guilt, making His forgiveness such a great grace.

But God doesn’t only stop remembering our wrongdoings; He frees us from the burden of guilt: "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." (Psalm 103:12) In His grace, He gives us the freedom to let go of the past and invites us not to hold on to old mistakes, whether they are ours or others’. His forgiveness is complete and offers us a real fresh start.

Next Step: Take a moment of silence and ask God to show you where you have wronged others and which wounds you can now fully bury at the cross.