Helpful forgetfulness

Almost everyone knows what it's like to become a little forgetful as we go along in life. One reason for this is that we typically have a lot going on, many plates spinning, and it's not easy to keep up with everything. The anniversary date may slip up on us, or we may be unable to recall the name of that acquaintance we know so well, or we can't think of the route we've used many times to get to a restaurant. Sometimes, too, a spouse will mention something that she/he has already told us a few days earlier, but it will come across as brand new information! We've just forgotten it!

Most of the time there's no harm done. But sometimes we do forget something very important, and we end up scheduling two or more events for the same time, or we miss a critical meeting. Then, too, there is the kind of loss of memory that is more serious, representing a clinical problem. This may be the result of a brain injury or illness.

But there's also a kind of forgetfulness that is good for us. This morning in my devotions I expressed this prayer: "Lord, help me to remember today what I should remember, and forget what I need to forget." What might we need to forget? Possibly we need to forget that grudge we're carrying around, that slight we perceive from someone else, that unhealthy habit, or those worries that beset us to the point of feeling stuck. The apostle Paul noted this: "One thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus..."

Evangelism is about remembering what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. And it's about helping us forget some things we need to lay aside.