God’s Love For Us, Part 7: Forgets
David W Palmer
In his word, God reveals the love with which he loves us. As we receive his love, enjoy him, and appreciate all he has done for us, he hopes that we will overflow his love to others. Today, we look at another remarkable characteristic of this love; it is a love so strong and amazing that it barely notices when wronged by another.
(1 Corinthians 13:4–7 TLB) “Love … does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong.”
Love “does not hold grudges” (verse 5)
The NIV says that love “keeps no record of wrongs.” In other words, love forgives and forgets.
B. Love Forgets
(Isaiah 43:25 NKJV) “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.”
(Micah 7:19–20 NLT) “Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean! {20} You will show us your faithfulness and unfailing love as you promised to our ancestors Abraham and Jacob long ago.”
If we love God, value his close personal fellowship, and want to please him, then deep in our hearts we will know if we have done or said something to hurt him; it may be a direct disobedience, or simply something we have overlooked. Perhaps we have ignored his prompting to hold our tongue, to keep our temper, or to maintain our peace. Thankfully, in these times when our relationship with God is bruised, he has provided a wonderful way to restore the “joy of our salvation” through our “Advocate” and “High Priest,” Jesus:
(1 John 1:8–10 NLT) “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. {9} But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”
In truth, God’s plan of salvation is so successful, and Jesus’s blood so effectual, that at such times, we can come to dad’s throne boldly:
(Hebrews 4:16 NKJV) “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
God is passionate about living in unbroken fellowship with us. Consequently, he went to incalculable expense to provide a way for our instant cleansing from anything that could hinder our free and open communion with him. If we confess our sins, he has promised to forgive us; we obtain “mercy.” Not only that, but he has also made up his mind in advance (and provided a way that justly allows him to do it) that he will instantly forget it; our past forgiven sin will not hinder our relationship with Father in the slightest way. Wow; this is amazing love.
What’s today’s take-away? If you have sinned, admit it, quit it, and forget it. If God forgives and forgets our sins … for his sake … let’s not carry around the memory of them, let alone any residual guilt from them: this would thwart God’s plan, and negate the benefits of Jesus’s indescribable suffering and subsequent achievement in rising again.
Secondly, when sinned against—and it certainly will happen—we need literally to be God’s children. So, determine ahead of time that you too will forgive those who sin against you the instant they confess it, knowing that Jesus’s precious blood has already paid for it. Then, consciously put it out of your memory. How do you do this? Do you lobotomize your brain’s memory cells? No, you simply determine never to mention it—ever, under any circumstance. And definitely do not store it as ammunition for a future fight.
Note: our enemy—the accuser and the one who tries to coach us into his ways—will always try to maintain an active record of the wrongs we have done, and especially of those committed against us. He will use it to pressure us to feel guilty, revengeful, hurt, rejected, etc. And he will always be on hand when we are ambushed in a sudden “flare up” argument or fight. He will unexpectedly and hastily barrage us with a very long and painful list of past wrongs the other person has committed against us. He will pressure you to use it as ammunition so your pride can win over the other person’s. This is when the “forget” part of love’s keeping no record of wrongs is really tested. Of course it comes to mind; the enemy puts it there. Love’s amazing ability to “forget” simply means that the Holy Spirit will give you the ability to not say it, use it, or feel the pain of it ever again. Once you receive forgiveness and forgive others, you are a completely new creation. The old hurt you has gone—forever.
