by Luther Blackmon<\/p>\n
An old slave had defied his master’s order not to read the Bible and was being flogged for it. As the whip cut into his flesh, his owner taunted him with: “What can your Bible do for you now, boy?” “It can teach me to forgive master,” he replied.<\/p>\n
It is sometimes more difficult to forget than to remember. But we must learn to forget. “We do not mean literally to forget, but to cease to nurse a grudge, to put the thing behind us, never to be brought up again, no matter what happens in the future.<\/p>\n
We need to forget our past failures. Don’t cry over spilled milk; get up and milk the cow again. When you have tried something and failed, learn a lesson from your failure and then forget it.<\/p>\n
Some people can never get over a slight by someone or a wrong done to them. The penitentiary is full of people who cannot forget a real or imagined wrong by an individual or society. A man told me that one of the reasons he had never become a Christian was that he could not forgive a wrong done to him. One of the first recorded statements of the Lord was: “But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses<\/em>” (Matthew 6:15). We had better remember that no unforgiving person can have fellowship with a forgiving God.<\/p>\n When Abraham Lincoln was President, he was bitterly criticized by Edward McMasters Stanton. He called Lincoln a “low cunning clown,” the “original gorilla.” Stanton was a Democrat, but after the attack on Ft. Sumter, Lincoln appointed him Secretary of War because Stanton was a loyal man and qualified for the job. Lincoln was more concerned for the country than for Stanton’s opinion of him. When Mr. Stanton looked into the rugged and homely face of Lincoln after he was killed, he remarked in subdued tones of respect, “There lies the greatest leader this country has ever known.” Would it not be nice if Christians would put the interest of the Lord’s work and His church before their own petty little injuries? We could use a lot of real men and women who have Lincoln’s spirit concerning this matter.<\/p>\n A little girl was asked to define forgiveness. She said in substance, “I don’t know the definition, but it is like this: when you crush a rose, the only resistance it offers is a sweet fragrance.”<\/p>\n Paul might have remembered the ill-treatment he received at Philippi, but instead, he said: “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mind for you all making request with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now<\/em>” (Philippians 1:3-4).<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Luther Blackmon An old slave had defied his master’s order not to read the Bible and was being flogged for it. As the whip cut into his flesh, his owner taunted him with: “What can your Bible do for you now, boy?” “It can teach me to forgive master,” he replied. It is sometimes…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1571],"class_list":["post-66613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-forgiveness"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":38864,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-forget-an-event-which-ive-already-forgiven\/","url_meta":{"origin":66613,"position":0},"title":"How do I forget an event which I’ve already forgiven?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 7, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I would like to first say thank you for having a wonderful website. It helped me view matters in a different perspective. My question today regards letting go and moving forward. How do I drop my personal pride and move on? How do I forget an event which\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63347,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/remember\/","url_meta":{"origin":66613,"position":1},"title":"Remember (Hamilton)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 21, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ecclesiastes 12:1 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0At times I get teased about my memory. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A researcher at Johns Hopkins noted the things people most often forget. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Names - 83% \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Where something is - 60% \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a03.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Telephone numbers - 57% \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a04.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Words - 53% \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a05.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0What was said - 49% \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a06.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Faces -\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36809,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/im-trying-to-forgive-my-wife-for-the-adultery-she-committed-but-im-finding-it-hard-to-forget\/","url_meta":{"origin":66613,"position":2},"title":"I’m trying to forgive my wife for the adultery she committed, but I’m finding it hard to forget","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 28, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good evening, sir, I was told about your website and that you can help me with some questions I have about my marriage. I have been married for less than ten years. Well, last year my wife was seeing another guy from work. I found her messages when she\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38485,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/no-condemnation-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":66613,"position":3},"title":"No Condemnation (2)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Ken Green \"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/chained-300x199.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":36036,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-just-found-out-my-girlfriend-lied-about-being-a-virgin-i-forgave-her-but-i-find-it-difficult-to-forget\/","url_meta":{"origin":66613,"position":4},"title":"I just found out my girlfriend lied about being a virgin. I forgave her, but I find it difficult to forget","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 5, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am a 22-year-old guy and have been dating a lady for the past two years. Two days ago she notified me that she lost her virginity three years ago. To me, this came as a deep shock in that I had trusted her and had asked her if\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31733,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-forget-that-my-fiancee-had-sex-with-her-former-boyfriend\/","url_meta":{"origin":66613,"position":5},"title":"How do I forget that my fiancee had sex with her former boyfriend?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 11, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: First of all, I want to thank God and ask Him to bless you for taking the time to advise everyone who came looking for answers. I need help forgetting and forgiving her past. I have tried really hard. 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