Remembering the Way God Remembers

I was watching one of the old “The Waltons” television segments today in which Grandfather “Zeb” is seen telling some pretty tall tales about his “heroic service” during the Spanish-American War. He later admits to “John Boy” that things didn’t exactly happen the way he had chosen to remember and recount them, but

 

… “after all, is there any crime in having pleasant memories?”

 

Near the conclusion of the segment, however, a man named “Isaiah” shows up, and begins to confirm what granddad had previously believed was his “little white lie.”

 

“Zeb. Did you ever tell Esther about our run up San Juan Hill? And how I was wounded, and how you saved my life by tying up my leg with a handkerchief?” And with this he pulls a bloody handkerchief from his coat pocket, and gives it to  his rescuer.

 

Of course, Zebulon is mystified with this accounting of events, but goes along with the story for the sake of his wife; who is by this time beaming with pride. As the show concludes the narrator assures us that from that point forward Zeb was more convinced than ever he had been involved in the march up the hill.

 

In Psalms 103:12 we read, “As far as the east is from the west so far has God removed our sins from us,” (and remembers them no more). It can be said that God has both a “Forgiver Mechanism” and a “Forgetter Mechanism.” Sadly, however we as human beings have only been blessed with the ability to forgive. We are hopeless to forget our sins, and the sins of those who have sinned against us.

 

Since scripture also assures us that in heaven all tears will have been wiped from our eyes, there can be little doubt that, on the other side, we will have been blessed with the ability to forget our own transgressions and those of our family and friends, as well as our enemies.

 

Not so very different from the story of Zeb and Isaiah. Both God and I will be saying the same thing, and telling the same story, (or lack thereof) on the other side of the experience we refer to as death.

 

Our mutual memory will be very much the same there, and will, no doubt, find us saying,

 

“For the life of me I cannot recall committing a single sin.”

 

By William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from "(Mc)Donald's Daily Diary" Vol. 7