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“"Forgiving, But Not Forgetting?"”

Thoughts for Today:

All too often I hear Christians say, "I can forgive, but I can't forget." But, that's not Paul's perspective in our passage today. He says: "I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake." But how do we forgive like Christ? I've found the act of forgiveness to involve more than just the person I want to forgive. Here's my personal guideline [remember we are only addressing repented sin]:

Step One: I make a commitment to the person who offended me (but has also repented), to not let my attitude toward them be conditioned upon the past. My goal is to act as if the transgression never occurred. Marriage is a great example. It's always easy to go back and dig up something to weight any disagreement in my favor. However, it's simply an indication that it was never really forgiven. I make sure my position and approach reflects that I have truly forgiven.

Step Two: I make a commitment to not share my experience with anyone else. In Corinth, the sinful act was very public, so everyone knew about it. Especially since Paul's letter was addressed to the whole church. However, that doesn't give anyone the right to continue to discuss or revisit the topic every time a difficulty may arise. I make certain I honor my commitment to leave it in the past and never bring it up again -- with anyone.

Step Three: I make a commitment to myself to not return to the event. In other words, although there might be great temptation, I don't allow myself to go back and don't bring up to God again what happened. If I do, it just makes me angry all over again. The past belongs in the past. So regardless of how often it might resurface in my memory, I repeat my act of forgiveness and let it go.

A family member once told me, "I can't forgive her, even though she admitted what she did wrong and asked for forgiveness. She just hurt me too much." I asked, "Do you truly realize how much God has forgiven you?" The foundation for Christian forgiveness is summed up quite nicely by Paul in Ephesians 4:32: "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you."

Questions to Ponder:

Is there someone in your life who needs forgiveness? Will you forgive just as in Christ, God forgave you?

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About the author

Pocket Devotions are written by Mike Brooks. A retired businessman, he is Moderator of South Shores church, leads the Deacon Board, serves on the finance committee, and he teaches a Men's Bible study and the Men's Ministry. Mike has a passion for evangelical missions. He is the husband of Sherry; the father of Ryan, Natalie, Krissy, Rebecca, and Amanda; the father-in-law of Ariel; and the grandfather of Conner and Christian.