Don’t Forget to Remember, and to Remember to Forget

Have you ever thought about why we remember? Why do human beings have the ability to remember at all? What happens when we remember the wrong things for too long? And why does God talk so often about remembering in the Scriptures?

Memory is one of those parts of being human that we often take for granted. At a basic level, we remember to survive. If a child climbs a tree, slips off a limb, and falls, he remembers the scrapes and bruises. It makes him more cautious the next time he reaches for a branch. It only takes one time to touch a hot stove to remember not to do it again. Memory gives us the ability to avoid repeating pain. It's an incredible built-in teacher.

But memory is more than just a safety net—it’s a part of who we are. We are created in the image of God. That is the foundation of our identity. Although our value does not stem from what we remember, memory certainly plays a crucial role in shaping how we express our identity. Our memories shape our present—how we perceive others, how we interact with God, and how we approach the future.

If you want an illustration of how deeply memory is connected to identity, consider how we are affected when we watch someone we love lose access to their memories. People who develop dementia and Alzheimer’s don’t just forget names and details—they lose the ability to express their identity. It is extremely painful when a loved one is still physically present, but their ability to engage, to remember shared experiences, and to connect in relationship fades. It feels as if we are already losing them.

Some Memories Linger Longer

Without a doubt, memories are important. And some memories leave deeper marks on us than others. The memories that linger the longest are often tied to emotion. Have you ever smelled apple pie or fresh bread and felt your mind instantly pulled back to Grandma’s kitchen? Or maybe you’ve visited an old neighborhood and felt as if you were transported back in time as the memories washed over you. Our brain stores emotional memories with special priority. Times of joy, grief, love, fear—these amplify our ability to remember. These memories affect our heart, not just our mind.

This concept also explains why some memories hurt so deeply. Memories of shame, guilt, and loss can stay with us for longer than we’d like them to. They can rush to the surface years later without warning because they were imprinted so deeply in our emotions.

The Role of Memory in Scripture

And here is an idea that perhaps you haven’t considered: memory reveals something about our very nature as humans. It is evidence that we are time-bound creatures. Although we are created in the image of God and we have an eternal future, we do not have an eternal past. We have a beginning. We cannot see the future; we experience life one moment at a time. Memory is a kind of marker of our mortality. It’s a signpost that reminds us we are creatures who must depend on the Creator.

Perhaps this is why memory plays such a vital role in Scripture. Throughout the Bible, God calls His people to remember. He doesn’t do this because He is sentimental or enjoys trivia. He teaches us to remember His promises, particularly those wrapped up in His covenants. And not just to remember them casually, but to rehearse them in our lives.

Think about how God paired many of His commands to remember with rituals, holidays, and festivals. For example, God told the Israelites to celebrate Passover to remember how He delivered them from slavery in Egypt. He gave them a specific meal to prepare and a particular way to celebrate it each year. This ritual was repeated across generations, and family members created special moments around the family table.

In the same way that we experience nostalgic memories during the holidays, those family moments created an emotional connection for the Israelites. Over time, that deep emotional connection deepened the memory. And the memory reminded them of the covenant promises of their God.

This practice was God’s way of reinforcing His faithfulness through relational and emotional experience. He knows how we are wired. He knows how we are affected when truth is tied to emotion and repetition.

Scripture teaches us to remember—but it also tells us to forget.

Consider the words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3:13: “Forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Paul had a past. One that he regretted. But he understood the power of releasing the past—not by pretending it never happened, but by refusing to allow it to define who he was becoming in Christ.

The prophet Isaiah was inspired to write, “Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder the things of the past.”(Isaiah 43:18). It’s clear that what we forget is just as important as what we remember.

When memories push us to lean into the future of who we are in Christ, we are instructed to hold fast to them and never forget. However, when memories hold us captive in the past and hinder our progress toward our ultimate identity, we are called to let them go.

The Pattern of Biblical Memory

There is a pattern to biblical memory:
We remember what leads us forward. We forget what holds us back.

We are told to remember God's covenant (Genesis 9:15; Deuteronomy 8:18). We must remember His Commandments (Numbers 15:39–40). The Psalmist said we must remember His mighty acts (Psalm 77:11) and His mercy and grace (Psalm 103:2). And we are told never to forget Jesus’ death (Luke 22:19).

However, we are also told to forget the former things (Isaiah 43:18). To forget our past sins (Hebrews 10:17; Isaiah 43:25). We are taught to release our earthly accomplishments, even they are not essential to our identity in Christ (Philippians 3:4–8). And we are taught to forget the wrongs that were committed against us (Ephesians 4:32).

The biblical pattern teaches us that we can only grasp what lies ahead by forgetting what is behind us.

Perhaps the most powerful illustration of the hope that comes from remembering the right things is found in the ritual of Communion. Listen to this statement from 1 Corinthians 11:26: “As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”

When we remember, we proclaim the hope of the future. The act of remembering in Communion becomes a prophetic act—a declaration of trust in the One who promised to die for us, to live again, and to return for us in the future.

This is what it means to remember rightly. We don’t just look back—we lean forward. We allow our memories to anchor us in the faithfulness of God. We also let go of what no longer defines us. And in doing so, we begin to live in the eternal now, where complete joy and unshakable hope meet us in the present.

Remember God’s promises—and forget what is behind you—because there is a bright future for the Christian.