Isaiah 43:25, Psalm 103:12

Steve Holloway

The fact that God forgives is one of the foundational theologies of the Christian faith. To a certain extent we can appreciate and understand His forgiving attributes, but something that no one can fully understand is His ability to stop remembering. Some people would use the word 'forget' here, but I feel attributing forgetfulness to God is inappropriate and inaccurate. Forgetting comes form an absent-mindedness or some other failing. Unlike an elephant (who never forgets), God does not forget he chooses not to remember our forgiven sin. Forgetting is unintended, choosing is an act of will. It is not that He puts it to the back of His mind or simply overlooks it; He wipes the slate clean as though they had never been there. He says 'I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.' Isaiah 43:25

I think many of us have a school playground understanding of God's forgiveness. I remember after a fight at school being told by a teacher to shake hands and forgive the person I had been jumping on.

"Make friends, make friends
never, never break friends,
If you do you'll catch the flu
and that will be the end of you" The pleasant little rhyme went.

Of course, we never actually forgave, as we were not actually sorry. Forgiveness under duress shows little fruit.

A number of years ago I went to pick up my son, Elijah from playgroup. It was only his third or fourth week and it was the first time he had said that he actually wanted to go. Sarah watched as he walked out, he would normally coming running out shouting "Mummy, Daddy" and showing us what he had made. That day he walked out very slowly, with his painting in his hand and he was sobbing his little heart out. He was inconsolable.

We were called in to see Elijah's teacher. Apparently, he had had a 'disagreement' with another child and refused to say sorry. We didn't really understand this because he used to say sorry all the time. "Sorry Mummy, sorry Daddy", he'd say it all day long, even for things he hadn't done. When we quizzed the teacher about this, she replied, "Elijah wouldn't say sorry, he just wanted to hug the boy. You do understand that we had to make him say sorry," she explained.

Two problems I see here.

1. If you make a child say sorry, he will not know why he is saying it.
2. The thing that really annoyed us is that Elijah always hugged the person he was saying sorry to. He demonstrated his remorse in his actions (perhaps I am overestimating his motives, but you get the point). She was making him go through what she saw as the verbal necessities that constitutes apologizing. He wanted to show the emotional extent of his sorrow (well he wanted a hug).

When God forgives, He no longer remembers. I felt that this is such a profound gift God gives us, that we named our organisation 'East 2 West' which is taken from Psalm 103:12 "as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." How far? East is an infinite distance from west.

Do you spend time going back to God repenting of the same sins? "Lord I know I've repented before of this, but I want you to know I really am sorry." He says, "I don't know what you're talking about. If you repented before, then I have chosen not to remember, so please move on to something else."

We don't do this because we can't. Even if we could, I suspect that few of us would actually choose not to remember. If we are honest with ourselves, other people's misdemeanours against us can be a nifty insurance policy. If they ever get out of line, we can always pull out the old, "well at least I haven't." Thank God that's not what He does.

God chooses to forgive and not remember because He loves you. It's not that someone has told Him to shake hands and make up. He is jumping at the chance to forgive you, and when we refuse to let Him, or even remind Him of something He's chosen not to remember then we insult one of His greatest gifts to us.

For His sake and yours - allow God to do what only He can do - remember your sin no more. If He chooses to not remember - then you ought to at least try.