Should I Forget My Past?

This is an excerpt from the blog at Biblical Counseling:

As a biblical counselor, people often ask me the important question, “Should I try to forget my
past?”

I first respond with a one-word answer. “No.”

Then I respond with a blog-size answer using the words:

• Remember


• Reflect


• Repent/Receive/Renew


• Reinterpret


• Retell


• Resources

Remember

Even if we wanted to, we couldn’t forget the past. It’s impossible. More importantly, it’s unbiblical.

Reflect

In a similar way, the Psalms are a biblical testimonial to the power and value of remembering face-to-face with God. I call it reflecting.

Repent, Receive Grace, Renew

When our memories of the past relate to our past sin, Christ’s soul-u-tion is to remember, repent, and receive grace. “Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first” (Rev. 2:5).

Reinterpret

But what do we do with our emotional agony when we remember past suffering—being sinned against? God’s Word is clear. We never forget, we re-member.

Retell

Being human involves shaping our personal experiences into stories or narratives. That’s part of our God-given capacity of memory. We shape our sense of self and who we are in Christ from our retelling of our experiences.