I messed up on recording my recent radio programs. The sound quality was so bad Mark could not run them on the air. So, I deleted them and recorded them again.
I sure wish I could do that in real life with all the other mistakes I make. Just delete them and start over as if nothing happened.
God says we can. If we are in Jesus and acknowledge our sins to him, our sins are forgiven and washed away by the blood he shed on the cross.
But it doesn’t feel like a “do over”, does it? I still remember what I did and so do others. Even if they actually forgive me and treat me as if it had not happened, they still remember.
But there is a blessing to the remembering. It helps the one I have wronged to be cautious in dealing with me until I have regained trust by moving away from the wrong I had committed.
Remembering is also good for me. It helps me to strive to avoid doing the wrong again. It also helps me to remember that as much as I want and need forgiveness, so do those who happen to do wrong to me.
It seems God knows exactly what I need in order to grow into his likeness.