Trying to Forget

       Who fixed my basement door? We recently discovered that some unapproved animals have been eating some of the bird seed that falls on the ground so steps were taken to keep this from happening again and to try to get rid of the strange nocturnal animals. It brought to mind immediately that my basement door had a gap in it and that it made easy access into the basement for those little furry creatures. I went into the basement yesterday and found that the gaps are gone and that some wood had been placed in the gaps. I thanked my daughter for doing it but she replied that she had not done it. I guess I have forgotten who did it and when it was done. I forget a lot of things but most of them are of no consequence and so it isn't a big loss. There are other things in my life that I would like to forget but can't. I remember the poor decisions in my life, the acts of stupidity that occurred here and there the temper tantrums and so on. Once they occurred, there was no getting back to “how things were before.” I asked God to forgive me but they are still there in the data storage unit in my head, sometimes referred to as my brain. Hebrews 10:16-17 says, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;  And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.”

       The list of sins that we commit during our lifetime is so large that we cannot adequately recall all the things that are on the list. We recall the big ones, but the list is far greater than that. The comforting facts of today's passage is that God does not remember. This is not due to a flaw in His ability or showing that He is inadequate but that He has chosen to not recall or to remember the sins that have occurred in our lives. Forgiveness from God's side is so far beyond our own understanding of forgiveness, that we will never be able to totally grasp the full meaning of it. He has forgiven us and it is total forgiveness. For God to say that “and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more” is something that is beyond our comprehension. My finite mind doesn't seem to be able to adequately erase the thoughts that are on my physical brain. It was once reported that a “copy” machine retains the image of every document that was copied. It is embedded on the memory of the copying machine. That is how my brain feels at times. I may forget where my keys are but other memories are still present. To read the statement in Hebrews is indeed praiseworthy as it shows us what God has promised in regard to our own iniquities, sins and transgressions; whatever you wish to call them. He has chosen to forget them, not due to His inability to do so, but simply because He has chosen to do so when Christ died on Calvary and paid for all of the transgressions. They are now under the blood of the Perfect Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. That is enough to erase the memory bank of sins that have accumulated in your life and in my life. How great is that? We can truly sing the hymn, “Jesus paid it all.” So, just praise God today that He remembers no more the things that you and I have done.”