08/09/2023
What do we do when our memories fail us? Are there repercussions to forgetting? What are the certain things that Jesus asked us to remember, and are there particular things that God asks to be remember as well? Does God ever forget? Should we?
God tells us to remember. The Word remember is used 144 times in the King James Version of the Bible, but only 27 times in the New Testament. I have thought a great deal about this disparity recently. Why was it so important in the Old Testament and less mentioned in the New? Maybe it was the difference in the timespan covered by the two, or perhaps Christianity is more about the now... and the imminent second coming of Jesus. I concluded something Interesting as I contemplated this mystery... we are already saved by the blood of Christ, so although we are waiting for Him to come again, it is not the same kind of waiting that the Jews were doing in the Old Testament. They were waiting in hope of redemption, a Messiah, while we are waiting in grace and the cleansing blood of a risen Christ, for a rapture that can come at any moment. We remember a few specific things, like communion, while those of old had to remember law after law, the escape from bondage in Egypt, and much more...
In the New Testament Jesus tells us to remember:
“And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.”
Luke 22:19 KJV
Bit in the Old Testament God says to remember, and do, many things like these, and more, so that the sins of those who lived before Jesus was born would be forgiven:
“That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.”
Numbers 15:40 KJV
“And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.”
Deuteronomy 5:15 KJV
Memory is remarkable… how would you like to remember everything you had ever done in your life... not just the fact that you had done a particular thing, but every minute detail; everything that happened during the birth of your first child, the first time you kissed your spouse, or every Christmas morning? At first blush that sounds rather appealing, but what about the time you stumped your toe and how painful that was, or maybe a bad fall in which you broke a bone? How about every blessing God has given you, wouldn't that be nice? But, the price for those particular memories come with the recall of every sin you have ever committed... as though it were just moments ago. Are we meant to forget... just as we are meant to remember?
There is a young man who lives in Nashville, TN who has that gift of total recall called hyperthymesia. He remembers every detail of his life... where he was, what was said, what he ate that day, and when. He is remarkable, and he is one of only 25 people in the world with this ability... but it comes at a price. HK Derryberry was born blind and with cerebral palsy. His mother died in a car accident and he was extracted 3 months premature from her dead body... she was an alcoholic. His father abandoned him when he was 5 years old, and he was raised by his grandmother. I encourage you to visit a short, but remarkably touching video story regarding this young man...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tml3zDte9aE&list=PLMkf5DqADhUEnLXYYTHdv7eE2lxseN6GK&index=3
Does his innocence, humility, and faith bring tears to your eyes? Do you cry at the thought of every sin, although forgiven, that he can never be forget... not a single detail? We might remember a very large one in our own lives, but time even robs the intricate details of those from us eventually... this is not true for HK. In some small way he is similar to God...
“But they do not consider that I remember all their evil. Now their deeds surround them; they are before my face.”
Hosea 7:2 ESV
Yet, God remembers not just our one life, but all lives and all things. How does he forget after forgiving? Does He?
“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”
Psalms 103:8-12 ESV
God forgives and separates our sins from us, but then He does something remarkable, He chooses not to remember them again! This is amazing because God is omniscient; he sees all and knows all, so forgetting would take an amazing and powerful act of grace and mercy to achieve.
We think of forgetting as a trivial thing because we forget all the time. We forget appointments, our spouse’s birthday, anniversaries, and too many things to count, but according to the Bible, our sins are the only thing that God chooses not to remember.
“"I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”
Isaiah 43:25 ESV
“And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.”
Hebrews 10:17 KJV
Some argue that forgetting and not remembering are two different things, but this is a rather academic argument; for our purposes they are the same because the end result is identical they are wiped from the conscious mind of God.
God choses to forgive and to forget (or not remember) our sins, but unlike Him, BK and the other 24 can't blot out their past transgressions... what a burden. Another interesting attribute of people like HK Derryberry is that they spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about the past, and why not? It is as fresh as if it had just happened... I am certain that they occasionally get confused between the past and the present. Have you ever woken up suddenly from a dream and thought you were somewhere other than in your own bed? What if that began to happen in the middle of the day? What if this started happening when you woke up from a daydream? So as we pass through life, what should we remember and what should we as human beings let go?
God says this of Himself:
“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”
Revelation 1:8 KJV
And He has placed this eternity within us as well, but has hidden it from our sight:
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11 ESV
So there is remembering and forgetting, and it is different in many ways between God and man, but there is much that is the same and some things hidden from our understanding may one day be revealed... perhaps, in that day, we will prove to be more like HK Derryberry. If so, I hope that our hearts will become like his as well… innocent and humble. Are you ready to remember if that is part and parcel of eternity?
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for remembering all the details of my life because in the care of your remembering I see the love you have for me. I also thank you for choosing not to remember the sins for which you have forgiven me. Your mercy and grace is without end and I weep at the thought of the suffering of Jesus as He paid the price for this forgiveness and paved the way for your grace. Holy Father, you have planted the mystery of eternity within us, and I long for the day when you will reveal that mystery, and my eternity with you will begin with me receiving the full understanding of what that means. I thank you Father for HK Derryberry and a glimpse into you that he gives us as we look at his remarkable life and his memory of it. You choose the meek, the humble, the innocent, and in HK we learn that lesson once again. Bless him in his life Lord, and may his inadequacies and sins be hidden from him even as you remember them not... let his purity be completed in this single act of merciful forgetfulness. I praise you Father in all you know and do... and for choosing to separate my sins and shortcomings from me. Praised be your name!
Rich Forbes