Some of us have little choice but to embrace forgetfulness as we get older and our memory brain cells just don’t seem to function the way they used to! This isn’t the kind of forgetfulness I mean, however… By embracing forgetfulness, what I mean is a willingness to emulate God who says ‘Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.’ (Heb 10:17, quoting Jer. 31:34).
God, being God, cannot actually forget anything (in the sense of ‘losing’ the memory the way we may do as we get older.) He does, however, choose not to remember our sins. This is enormously liberating for us, as Jeremy Camp’s song ‘We Must Remember’ makes plain, for we often have a tendency to wallow in our sins, finding it hard to accept God’s forgiveness. Easter makes it plain that ‘You are the God that bore our shame./ You are the taker of our pain.’
The concomitant of this, however, is that we are urged to forgive as God has forgiven us. (Eph 4:32, Matt 6:12, 14-15). The antidote to bitterness, broken relationships and high stress levels is to live each day with forgiveness in your heart. This is not always easy, because we are easily hurt and often hurt others. Nonetheless, as we choose not to remember wrongs done to us and freely offer forgiveness to others, we are set free from so many things which would trip us up.
To those who say they cannot forgive, I would urge a re-reading of the gospels, savouring the Passion story slowly. Forgiveness is at the heart of the good news of Jesus Christ. As we ponder His forgiveness, He is able to put within us a heart that forgives, as part of the transformative process His life in us brings.