Forgiven and forgotten, or keeping count?

http://bible.com/116/isa.43.25.nlt “I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again.

Once we are forgiven for our sins, God will not bring them up again. In fact, they are to God “as far as the east is from the west”.

There is a lot that we can learn about forgiveness. We aren’t supposed to be the nagging spouse always bringing up the past faults of our partner. We aren’t supposed to be the constantly whining child pointing out every fault,  every wrong, keeping score of the hurts of others crying,  “That’s not fair”.

We are supposed to be Christ like.

We are supposed to walk in the Spirit of God, and not in the flesh. We are supposed to love God and show love to others.

Sometimes I’m not a very good Christian with the things that I do in the flesh. Sometimes the people around me aren’t very good either. But if I’m trusting God to forgive me of the pile of sins that I’ve committed in my own life, shouldn’t I be focused on repenting of my own sins and forgiving others. And if I’ve truly forgiven, isn’t it past away?

And holding onto those past faults doesn’t benefit us,  it doesn’t give us any leverage over that other person at all – in fact,  it demonstrates our own unwillingness to truly forgive. It demonstrates the hypocrisy and hardened heart that doesn’t reflect a life fully surrendered to Christ.

Lord, help us today to learn how to forgive like you forgive. Help us learn how to love like you love. Help us to be quick to examine ourselves closely, seeking your will through a repented life resisting sin, and not distracted by what we should be forgiving in others. Let us be quick to forgive others,  and trusting that you have forgiven us as well. Teach us to love – to live like Christ – walking in the Spirit, not in the flesh – always remembering your grace and mercy and sacrifice – and following your commandments and the truth of your divine instruction and guidance. Amen.