CAN GOD FORGET?

By Dr. M. R. Dowler

Today is Memorial Day an American holiday celebrated on the last Monday in May since 1971. Originally known as Decoration Day and credited as beginning in Waterloo, New York, Memorial Day was borne out of the Civil War by Army General Order Number 11 designating May 30^th as the day to decorate the graves of fallen comrades. For many, Memorial Day has lost its commemorative traditions; today it is more a work day off for cookouts and culturally recognized as the unofficial start of summer.

Several days ago over a thousand soldiers of the Army’s Third Infantry placed American flags on 228,000 graves in the 624-acre Arlington National Cemetery in anticipation of Memorial Day. The Third Infantry, also known as the Old Guard has been the US military’s official ceremonial unit at Arlington since 1948. The annual Flag-In Project involves each soldier carrying dozens of flags in their pack and setting a flag one foot in front of each gravestone. One day next week all the flags will be removed before Arlington is opened for visitors.

Memorial Day is all about remembering, lest we forget. Our English word “remember” focuses entirely on recall; “forget” is a failure to bring memories to mind. Both words are a mental activity. On a human level, forgetfulness is a flaw brought about as a product of the fall (Romans 5:12). But consider this---the Bible tells us that God does not remember the sins and iniquities of all repentant believers (Isaiah 43:25; Hebrews 10:17). So how can God, in His infinite wisdom, power and perfection (Psalm 18:30) forget anything?

Theologically speaking, the key to this conundrum is the Hebrew and Greek meaning of remember and forget. Because God knows the past, present and future (Isaiah 46:10), He has no need to engage in mental activities. To Him memory (or failure to remember) is an action. Thus, when God says He does not remember our sins, it means He decides not to act upon; as in to punish us (Ezekiel 33:15-16). God’s “memory” is a demonstration of His mercy (Psalm 25:6). Think about it. Happy Memorial Day.