It's a trick question, so you have to be very careful about how you answer it. It was something that was apparently dreamed up by a "non-believer" in an attempt to trip people up and make them question their own belief system. Here's the question: "If God can do anything, can he make a rock that is so big that even he can't pick it up?" The best answer I've heard to that question came from a lady who said, "Yes, he can....and then he makes himself big enough to pick it up." What if it was asked this way, "If God can do anything, can he forgive someone and then erase what they did from his memory so that even he can't remember it?" Yes, he can...can you? If he decides to forget something, he forgets it. He forgets what he chooses and remembers what he chooses, and he forgets when he forgives. I've thought about that quite a bit. Forgetting a wrong that was done to me is a formidable task, but I'm also here to tell you that it can be done. However, in order to do that, we must be like God and "choose to forget it."
What does it mean to forgive someone? I've heard people say, "Okay I'll forgive him, but I promise you I'll never forget what he did." Or we may hear something like, "I'll forgive him, but I'm never gonna have anything else to do with him." I'm glad God doesn't operate that way. If God was to say that he would forgive me, but at the same time he was severing our relationship because of what I had done, I'd be in a world of hurt right now. Here's the way God operates: If he forgives me, then from that point forward, as far as he is concerned, the wrong I committed never happened. It's like it has been erased from history. Now, if I say I'm a Christian, what am I saying about myself? I'm saying that I'm making an effort to be "Christ-like." That means I have to forgive and then erase that transgression from history.
All of us, throughout our lives, will have numerous occasions where we will have the choice of whether or not we are going to forgive someone for a wrong that they have committed against us. It's not always an easy thing to do, but I have learned from experience that once we truly forgive someone, it's like lifting a heavy load off of our shoulders. Another thing I've learned is that you can actually forget it. I'm not saying that you couldn't pull it back into your memory if you were to choose to do so, but you can get to the point to where you can be around that person and never even think about how they have wronged you in the past...like it never happened. I believe if I make the effort, God will come to my aid and help me to forget. Then, if I've forgiven you, it's never mentioned again. Never. Try that and see how it works. I think you'll be amazed at how quickly it begins to evaporate from your mind. Then you won't have to spend your life burdened by having to dwell on events from the past...especially if they've been "erased from history."
Preston
What does it mean to forgive someone? I've heard people say, "Okay I'll forgive him, but I promise you I'll never forget what he did." Or we may hear something like, "I'll forgive him, but I'm never gonna have anything else to do with him." I'm glad God doesn't operate that way. If God was to say that he would forgive me, but at the same time he was severing our relationship because of what I had done, I'd be in a world of hurt right now. Here's the way God operates: If he forgives me, then from that point forward, as far as he is concerned, the wrong I committed never happened. It's like it has been erased from history. Now, if I say I'm a Christian, what am I saying about myself? I'm saying that I'm making an effort to be "Christ-like." That means I have to forgive and then erase that transgression from history.
All of us, throughout our lives, will have numerous occasions where we will have the choice of whether or not we are going to forgive someone for a wrong that they have committed against us. It's not always an easy thing to do, but I have learned from experience that once we truly forgive someone, it's like lifting a heavy load off of our shoulders. Another thing I've learned is that you can actually forget it. I'm not saying that you couldn't pull it back into your memory if you were to choose to do so, but you can get to the point to where you can be around that person and never even think about how they have wronged you in the past...like it never happened. I believe if I make the effort, God will come to my aid and help me to forget. Then, if I've forgiven you, it's never mentioned again. Never. Try that and see how it works. I think you'll be amazed at how quickly it begins to evaporate from your mind. Then you won't have to spend your life burdened by having to dwell on events from the past...especially if they've been "erased from history."
Preston
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