Forgive

 If you were asked the question would you rather be forgiven or would you rather our wrongs were just forgotten? On the surface forgotten sound really good doesn’t it? There are many that can’t and want forget the wrongs done to them; let me just stop here and say we have all been done wrong. Someone has abused you in some way or another, said wrong things about you and even tried to destroy your character and you can’t forget the hurt that it has caused you and your family. Get even is what you may really want to do. A few years back there was a man whose wife had had an affair with another man. He was upset at them both I spend over an hour or so talking with him about containing his anger. I don’t know how many times I used the word forgive in our conversation but when all was said and done he told me this. The man that has chosen to have this affair with my wife has destroyed our home but tonight he can be very thankful to you. I said in what way could he be thankful to me I don’t even know who he is. Then he told me this story; I was waiting until later tonight for if you were to walk over to where my truck is parked and you were to look in the back you would find  5 gallons of gasoline which I was going to burn down his house with. What does Webster have to say about these two words?

Forget- To lose the remembrance of; to let go from the memory.

Forgive- To pardon; to remit, as an offense or debt; to overlook an offense, and treat the offender as not guilty. The original and proper phrase is to forgive the offense, to send it away, to reject it, that is, not to impute it, [put it to] the offender. But by an easy transition, we also use the phrase, to forgive the person offending.

My mother lives with my wife and I and she has Alzheimer’s and she has forgotten a lot that has went on in her life, she just can’t remember anything about parts of her life. It’s awful not to be able to remember. One day she walked into the room with a picture in her hand and asked if this was a picture of my brother, as I looked at the picture is was not my brother but my dad her husband of 38 years; it’s awful not to remember. You and I may one day have the same problem but to be honesty I had much rather forgive than to forget. That is what God Does He doesn’t forget He forgives.

Psalms 103:12  As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

Hebrews 8: 12  For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

Hebrews 10:17  And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

Remember to forgive is to treat and offender as not guilty if we were able to forget then we would not remember anything about it at all. But for you and I to forgive take our will power. God who can never forget says that He chooses not to remember our sins; He could if He wanted to but He say I chose not to remember their sins and iniquities no more. Aren’t you glad you are in the family for God? You know that is exactly what our heavenly Father wants you and I to do.

Luke 11:4  And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.  While we lay awake at night not forgiving that person or persons. As we hold on to all that bitterness we have allowed, as it builds up against them they are at home fast asleep. Instead of getting revenge and staying bitter why not just forgive and have peace for that is what God did for each one of us; He “FORGAVE.”  To forgive the person offending.