A Mother's Wisdom

I was talking with my mother on the phone this past weekend. She lives 200 miles away so we try to stay in touch once a week. I love calling her on the weekends to catch up on the her and the family news. These weekly conversations are a family tradition that started when I was very young. When my family moved to Georgia, far away from my mother's parents, my mother would call my grandparents every Saturday morning around 8 a.m. These conversations kept the family close until we could be together at holidays or in the summers.

Now that I'm an adult, Mom and I have kept this tradition going. Our conversations often last an hour - or two. We've tried to stay close through the years despite the distance and our limited visits. This past weekend's conversation took a little detour from our normal conversation. As my Mom and I were talking, the topic of forgiveness came up. I admire my mother's wisdom! She said, "We need to forgive others and then forget. When we ask God to forgive us, He does, and then He forgets. He doesn't keep reminding us of our past mistakes or throwing our sin in our faces. Because He forgives and forgets, then we should do the same for others."

And she is so right! We should forgive others because God forgives us! Colossians 3:13 says, "Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Not only should we forgive, but we should also forget. Once we ask for God's forgiveness, we are forgiven. Our sins have been blotted out by the Blood of Christ.

"For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more."
Hebrews 8:12

Once forgiven, God doesn't keep bringing up our past, throwing it in our faces, reminding us of our failures and shortcomings. I don't know about you, but this is GOOD NEWS to me! Therefore, we need to do the same towards others. Once we forgive, we should forget. True forgiveness forgets transgressions. True forgiveness doesn't continually bring up past sins that were supposedly forgiven. True forgiveness learns from the past, but does not hold a grudge. True forgiveness doesn't have to prove itself right without a doubt. True forgiveness doesn't wound or seek revenge - sound familiar?

If we think we have forgiven someone, yet we continually revisit their offense whether in their presence or not, then maybe we haven't really forgiven. Maybe we need to ask God's help in forgiving them. Forgiveness helps us perhaps more than the offender. Unforgiveness can hinder our testimony of a forgiving God. We are His children so let us follow His example. Let's let bygones be bygones. Forgive as we have been forgiven!

Thanks, Mom! I needed this lesson this week! Yep, I love talking with my Mama on the weekends!

In His Love, Cathy