forgive.

"Can you really forgive if you can't forget?"
- Carrie Bradshaw, Sex and the City

recently, i got into thinking about forgiveness. this lofty idea that seems to roll off your tongue, "i forgive you". but what does it really mean to forgive a person? a wrongdoing? a mistake?

sometimes we just want to forget and hope that that takes care of the forgiveness part as well. throw it into the back of our minds and lock it up and throw away the key.

sometimes we unknowingly bear grudges. our heart turns and twists with every mention of the "thing" and when that moment passes, everything returns to normal.

sometimes that very "thing" that we chose to avoid or forget just creeps into our thoughts when our minds drift. and it invades your head and does the things that viruses do. tear your heart and mind apart.

i struggle with the idea of forgiveness a lot. i have given up on the idea of forgetness. because that is just impossible.

i just rewatched an episode of House season 3. this guy has a heart attack everytime the girl he loves is around him physically. and because (he thought) the girl is engaged to his brother, and in order to cure him, the doctors shocked his brain so that the memories of his family, job, friends are all erased, along with his secret love for the girl. and that was the only way to stop the heart attacks that would have killed him.

amnesia, blunt force trauma to the head, alzheimer's disease and the above scenario - the only methods to forget. for real.

so if we can't forget, how can we ever forgive a person? that's the question asked by popular culture. and the cliche phrase of "forgive and forget".

is cutting out that person/thing from your life the answer? that constitutes forgetness, and i wouldn't think it works.

Nora Walker, the matriarch in the show Brothers and Sisters, said the key to moving on and forgiving is to let go. of course she had to let her deceased-cheating-husband-who-had-an-affair-for-20-years go and move on with her life. later in the season, she very nicely told "the other woman" to also let him go, of course after a exciting food fight, literally.

thinking about forgiveness ultimately makes me think of Jesus. Jesus who said when he was nailed to the cross.

"Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do"
- Luke 23:24

Jesus, a shining example of blamelessness (which is something i also struggled with all the time), big-hearted, forgiving. and if our aim is to be Christ-like, and because we were made in His image, the ability of forgiving should not be out of reach.

it's so amazing, God's love for us. He is so ready to forgive us of our sins and transgressions. a clean slate, each and every time. all we need to do is to ask of it in prayer, with all sincerity, honesty and earnest-y.

"For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You."
- Psalm 86:5

"I write to you, little children,
Because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.
I write to you, fathers,
Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
Because you have overcome the wicked one.
I write to you, little children,
Because you have known the Father. "
- 1 John 2:12-13

again i'm reminded about the message preached during morning worship 2 weeks ago. and here it adds that our sins are forgiven for His name's sake.

"For Your name’s sake, O LORD,
Pardon my iniquity, for it is great. " -Psalm 25:11

He has forgiven us, for His name's sake. and He will bless us, for His name's sake. what wonderful grace.

how great is His name. =)