Forgive and forget. What does that really mean? I personally do not like the phrase. Why? Because you never truly forget what happened. Now, don’t get me wrong, sometimes you will forget what happened when you forgive someone. That is when something happens that really isn’t a big deal, but the person who did the deed feels really bad about it. You, of course, forgive them and then by the next week you forget about the issue. Usually, the big things that you do need to forgive people for, even when you feel like you shouldn’t, are the ones that you really do not forget.
Think about it for a second. When was a time that someone hurt you really badly? See what I did there. You thought about it, and I am sure you remember a specific time just like it was yesterday. So obviously, you did not forget even though you may have forgiven that person, which is what we should do.
We should always forgive people no matter what they did to us because God forgives us of our sins. We are called to work every day to be more like Christ. No, we will never be exactly like Him, but we are to try to be Christ-like. The bible says in Colossians 3: 13-15, “13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”
This is basically saying that we should forgive others and also love others. When we do this, we will be at peace.
With that being said, I believe that forgive and forget does not mean that you will actually forget everything that happened to you, but that you will be at peace with what happened. It will not control your life. I know for me, there have been times where I will think about what someone did to me constantly. It feels like it rules over me. Then, the other day it dawned on me that truly forgiving someone means that you are at peace with what happened, and if you are not, then you really didn’t truly forgive the person. So, you may never forget, but you will find everlasting peace when you truly forgive.
