Ezekiel Chapter 18: Verses 21-23 (NIV)
“But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die. None of the offenses they have committed will be remembered against them. Because of the righteous things they have done, they will live. Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?”
When someone asks God for forgiveness, and is genuine about it. God makes an active choice not to remember the wrong and the sin. I think that’s awesome. He is God eternal and knows everything yet He chooses to forget our sin, if we are willing to repent. How easy is it for us to forget the wrong done to us, if someone asks for our forgiveness. It’s a difficult choice to make sometimes. Our lives may have been dramatically changed because of the wrong done to us, but if we claim to be a follower of Jesus, then we must do as He did. He forgave the very ones who physically beat Him and hammered the nails into his body to keep Him on the cross. Why? God does not hold a grudge. He tells Jeremiah that He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. He wants them to turn from their wicked ways and live. He wants us to feel the same. He knows that its not an easy thing for us to do, but He will give us the strength and grace to do so. When we choose to bear a grudge and remember all the wrong done to us, we are only hurting ourselves. Its much better for us to give that burden to God and get on with the life He intends us to live.
Dear Lord,
Thank You for choosing to forget all the wrong I have done that has been brought under the blood of Jesus. Help me to choose to forgive and forget when someone asks me to forgive them. I can do no less than follow the example of Jesus. I ask in His Name. Amen.