We have been given minds that hold memories. You’ve heard the phrase over and over again “forgive and forget.” We may try the this tactic, but sometimes, though we believe we have moved past the hurt and forgiven, we simply don’t forget.
The Bible does say that the Lord does not remember our sins. How is this possible? We also know that God is omniscient, or all knowing, so it’s not as if He has gaps in His knowledge. These two statements taken together mean that he does not hold the sins we have repented from against us.
As we strive to bring ourselves closer to Him, what forgiveness means for us is that we choose not to hold an offense against the person who commits it. We don’t dwell on those offenses and in time, they lose their dominating power. Forgiveness instead releases tremendous healing power in our relationships.
What can you do if those hurts resurface in your mind once again? You can apply the grace of God to that situation and you can make the difficult choice not to hold the offense against the person. You may need to do that more than one time, perhaps many times over.
The story of our lives is always bigger than ourselves. When we forgive, we show the world what God is like and what He has accomplished in our lives. It is bigger than the immediate pain, with effects that reach further than we can imagine as individuals. What is at work is bigger than me and bigger than you. Demonstrate this to others.