Memory is an activity of the heart.
Our minds can remember and forget. Remembering is recollecting a person, thing, or event. When we remember something, we think about it again to avoid forgetting it. To forget means to be unable to, or decide not to, think of something. In former times, for as a prefix denoted negation or exclusion. So, forget meant “not get.”
For many different reasons, our memory fails. We do not remember things because we cannot remember them. Forgetfulness becomes a weakness and is one sure sign of aging.
Forgetfulness can also be a choice and a sign of maturity. We forget what we shouldn’t remember. We then forget because we choose not to remember. We reject thoughts that remind us of something we’ve decided to forget. But if we choose to remember certain things, we will never forget those things.
God viewed Israel as His bride. In our text, God says He remembers the beginnings of His relationship with Israel. Although Israel was now rebellious, God could still remember when she was close to Him. God never forgot those good ole days, although Israel did.
The one thing, and maybe the only thing, God forgets is sin—sin that has been confessed and repented of. The Bible does not speak of anything else that God forgets. Forgetfulness is not a weakness with God. His memory is not failing. God doesn’t literally forget our sins; He chooses not to remember them anymore once we confess them.
We need to join God in forgetting those sins we have confessed and put under the blood of Jesus. He’ll never recall them again, and we shouldn’t either.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay and kalyanayahaluwo.)
(For more devotions, visit Christian Devotions.)
James H. Cagle has been preaching and getting the Word out since 1982. He has pastored for twelve years. He now writes for twelve newspapers weekly. He has published three books and is working on several others. James spent four years in the Marine Corps and was honorably discharged in 1980 as a sergeant. He grew up in Bemiss, Georgia, and graduated from Lowndes High in 1975. He currently resides in Nashville, Georgia.