For a long time my husband worked in a bank and then he became a pastor. Both occupations required us to move regularly. One of the advantages of moving is the opportunity to have a fresh start at each new place – a clean slate. No-one knows the mistakes you made at the previous place, things you wished you had not said, things you wished you had done but never quite got around to.
In our relationship with God we can always enjoy the assurance of having a “fresh start”. God made it possible through Jesus’ death for our sins to be completely forgiven and forgotten. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (Jeremiah 31:34).
But how can God, who is all-knowing forget our sins? Wouldn’t that mean he was no longer all-knowing? The fact is God chooses not to bring our sins to mind. He chooses not to remember. It is important for us to realise that we also have this ability – the ability to choose not to remember.
In our relationships with other Christians and with ourselves, we need to use this ability. In the daily affairs of life when sins are committed against us, often unintentionally, we need to forgive and choose not to think about the wrongs that have been done to us, choose not to bring them to mind. God’s intention is for us to have a “fresh start” in our relationship with him and with each other.
