Starting off with two “F words” here … “Forgive and Forget” … How many times have we heard them together … like peanut butter and jelly, bread and butter, or  … tea and pot, cec and goofy … You get my meaning ….

But, what if i said that i kinda like bread by itself ???? Or, gasp, tea heated in the microwave ??? It could happen ….

What if we forgave even before we’re ready (or able to!) forget !!!!???? …

Stick with me here … When someone wrongs you or a loved one it hurts … Trust me … Been there … Done that … Heck, too often 🙁  … But, in a lot of cases, THEY may not even KNOW that they’ve hurt you.  And even if they do, holding on to the anger and frustration only keeps our wounds open and heart heavy …

Forgiving them doesn’t absolve them of the guilt of what they’ve done, it doesn’t erase what happened.  It frees you from carrying the heavy burden so you can start to heal … Asking God to step in and forgive them creates the pathway for their healing too.  Choosing to allow them back in afterwards, well, that’s a whole different set of prayers and decisions …

Take Peter, for example.  When he was confused about this very topic Christ was emphatic about reminding His disciple of the need to forgive … Hmmmm … Do you think that was to make sure that Peter was able to forgive HIMSELF just a little bit later on when he messed up and denied Christ 3 times ???

And then, of course, what did Christ do when He saw Peter after the Resurrection ??? FORGAVE him … THREE TIMES (as if wiping out all three times he’d messed up) …

At the well, Jesus didn’t “forget” the lady’s past, but, was able to look past it and offer her the Living Water and a brand new future …

When i was pulling pictures for today, the very first one that popped up was this NASCAR shot. I just chuckled and thanked the Spirit. What better picture of forgiveness? These drivers are going 200 miles per hour, inches from each other, trusting their lives to people who will make mistakes. Grudges at that speed could literally kill their friends.

There’s three readings today, forgive me (ha! See what i did there!) … One of them is only 2 verses, though …

Bible Verses

Matthew 18:21-22 / John 4:7-26 / Ephesians 4:25-32

Questions

Do you try to “forgive and forget,” or have you learned to separate the two? (No judgment either way — I’d love to hear your thoughts.)