I once heard someone say ‘forgiveness is hard, because you can’t forget’…. This got me thinking. Does forgiving really come from forgetting or can forgiveness come even when you haven’t or cannot forget? Does Jesus want us to forgive and forget or does He expect us to only forgive after we have forgotten? Most importantly, what is forgiveness?
The definition for forgiveness is as many as there are people. For the sake of this post, I would like for us to look at what the bible says about forgiveness. The bible says we are to forgive as God forgave us through Jesus… In other words, forgiveness can be understood only if we look at how God forgave us
How did God forgive us? He forgave us TOTALLY.
So in forgiving totally, must we “forgive and forget”? Honestly, unless you develop amnesia, the chances of you forgetting an offense are very slim… However, forgiveness is something we can do by faith with the help of the Holy Spirit, even though we don’t forget.
When we forgive by faith, we are forgiving out of obedience to God and not necessarily because we feel like it or because we no longer feel hurt… Our obedience through forgiveness shows that we trust God at His word and we are willing to let Him work out His purpose in and through us
Another thing that goes without saying is this; forgiveness is by choice HOWEVER forgiveness does not mean resigning one’s self to abuse, misuse or repeated hurts. May God help us, as we choose to forgive
Matthew 18:21-22
“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
Colossians 3:13
“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:32
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
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Temitope Talabi is a founding member of The Trent Voices currently reside in Austin, TX. She graduated with a PharmD from Texas Southern University in Houston, TX. She works as a community pharmacist and spends her spare time writing to build and encourage others through the word of God. Temitope is also currently working on a series of self-help books created to empower people to take charge of their health and wellness, the first of which is scheduled to be released early next year.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
