Monday: December 9, 2013

READ: Hebrews 8

THINK: Tonight my wife sent me out to run two quick errands. When I got home the first thing she said to me what “Hi.” The second was, “Did you remember to put gas in the car?” I said, “Yep. That was main purpose of me going out.” And she responded, “I know. But then I have you something else to do so I thought maybe you’d forget the first one.” To be honest, at first I wanted to be a bit offended by that. But then I thought about my long and distinguished history of forgetting stuff and I had to laugh and admit, “That really does sound like something I would do!”

It’s easy for me to forget things. But it’s also really easy for me to remember them again later. Forgetting them isn’t permanent. It just means that they aren’t on my brain for a little while, but not that they wont be again. If my forgetfulness was permanent then I’d have to get a brand new set of keys at least 3 times a week.

This is the problem I’ve always had with the idea that God forgets my sins. It seems like a really nice thought, and I’ve heard it plenty of times. But I always struggled with it. First off, forgetfulness comes from my own imperfection and it’s really hard for me to believe that God can forget because he’s perfect. And second, often after I’ve forgotten things I remember them again later. To think that God might remember my sins again later really bums me out.

But check it out: that’s not what God promises. He doesn’t promise to forget. Instead he promises something much better. He promises that as a part of the New Covenant, in Christ’s blood and because of his sacrifice, he will forgive our sins and he will remember them no more. Remembering them no more is better than forgetting. It means that God consciously chooses to remove our sins from us completely and to never again, not once and not ever, remember them, consider them, or think about them again. Now that is reassuring!

Sometimes I think we can’t accept forgiveness and we can’t get rid of the sin and guilt in our lives because we aren’t sure that our sins are gone. We aren’t fully convinced that they have been removed. And we’re worried that they still count against us somehow. Today lets live in the freedom of knowing, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that God chooses to remember them no more.

PRAY: Thank God for the cross. For forgiveness. For remembering our sins no more. And give all of your guilt and shame up to him today. Allow him to remove it from you. Don’t hold on to it or remember it anymore because he doesn’t!