The Requirement of Forgiveness

I did it once more. When my husband was sharing an idea he had, I essentially dismissed it. I mentioned past missed opportunities to argue that his idea required further consideration. As I prepared for church, I realized I had projected my own frustrations onto him, assuming his thought process was the same as mine. I have consistently expected his spiritual, physical, and mental journey to mirror my own. I tend to do this with others as well.

Oh, you don't do that? Interesting. I guess it's just me, then.

I'm pretty sure the realization wasn't of my own wisdom, but wisdom being given to me by the Holy Spirit. It was like a newsflash, so of course it wasn't something already in my brain.

Father to child: "You know you were wrong in how you spoke to him. Now, go apologize."

The Holy Scripture states that my sins are as distant as the east is from the west. Sins that are forgiven are erased from my record by the blood that flowed from Christ's veins. I cannot compare human forgiveness to that of a Holy God. When I ask my husband for forgiveness, he grants it. Yet, if I repeat the same mistake, he might remind me of the past error. He claims he forgave me, but the memory remains. Similarly, I forgive but I don't forget.

I admit my sins to Abba, and in line with His word, He is Holy and Just. He forgives me when I genuinely repent. If I commit the same sin again, or a different one, He doesn't hold my sins against me. Instead, He continues to take each confessed sin and entirely erase it.

God's forgetfulness of my sins differs from human forgetfulness. Humans forget due to memory decline with age or brain trauma. We also forget because certain memories, whether recent or old, don't seem significant enough to retain. In contrast, God's forgetfulness is intentional. God deliberately chooses to forget our sins against Him as soon as we confess them.

Mark 11:25 "And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you for your offenses." (NASB)

A humble heart ready to turn away from sin (known as repentance), combined with confessing with our mouth what we recognize in our hearts as wrong, results in TRUE FORGIVENESS. This leads to the sin being erased as if it never occurred. I don't mean erased like an eraser does. Erasers leave crumbs, aren't perfect at removing marks, and take some paper with them. God's forgiveness leaves no trace in Heaven of our sins against Him.

God's forgiveness doesn't remove the earthly consequences we have to confront. This is earth. It's still messy. Handle it.

Mark 11:25, New American Standard Bible