My wife and I were enjoying a Skype call with our daughter in the USA when suddenly her young son came into view, holding a piece of paper in his hand. He asked his Mum if he could put it in the shredder and she replied that he could, but did he realise that once the machine had “eaten it” he wouldn’t be able to get it back? He seemed happy with that as we heard the machine cross-cutting the paper and off he went. As we continued our conversation, he appeared again and asked his Mum for the piece of paper he had put in the machine! Patiently, Mum tried again to explain what had happened and as the tears flowed down his face, he at last seemed to grasp what “shred” meant.
At the risk of quoting a Bible passage out of context, Hebrews 8 verse 12 states –For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more. This is a principle also stated in Isaiah 43 and Jeremiah 31. Have you ever questioned why “past mistakes” come back to our memory? Is this a human failure, or is Satan trying to test the truth of God by asking the question first raised in the Garden of Eden, “Did God really say that?” The words of the hymn, “Before the throne of God above” provide us with encouragement with the following words –
When Satan tempts me to despair and tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look, and see Him there, Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Saviour died, my sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied to look on Hum – and pardon me.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we thank you for your love and forgiveness. Please help us to appreciate the reality of what this means, even if you use our memory to help us learn from our mistakes. AMEN