Should Old Acquaintance be Forgot and Never Brought to Mind?
What would New Year’s be without that old favorite, “Auld Lang Syne?” Auld Lang Syne was originally a poem written in 1788 by a Scottish man named Robert Burns. And although I am not sure what “Auld Lang Syne” means (and can’t find a definition for it!) If you look up the original poem, you quickly realize this is a poem about drinking with friends. The line after “We’ll take a cup of kindness yet,” is, “You’ll buy your pint, and I’ll buy mine.”
While Robert Burns may not have had the things of God in mind when he wrote his poem, one of his lines certainly brings them to mind for me! “Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?” This line makes me think of Lamentations 3:21 – 24 which says, “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.”
Within these beautiful verses is a call for us to both remember and bring something to mind and to forget and never bring something to mind. First, what should we bring to mind? The verses make it pretty obvious. We should frequently bring to mind God’s steadfast love and mercy. Bringing this to mind on a regular basis will give us hope regardless of our current circumstances. The definition of steadfast is “unwavering.” God’s love for His people is unwavering. There is nothing we can do to make God love us more and nothing we can do to make Him love us less! Likewise, His mercies never come to an end. Like His love, it is unwavering and unchangeable for His children.
So, what should we forget? Our sin! If we belong to Jesus, His blood has paid the price for all of our sins, past, present, and future. This does not mean that we are free to sin knowing we have forgiveness. Our redemption came at a very high price. THAT we need to always remember! We need to understand the gravity of what it meant for us to have been God’s enemy and under His wrath; and be humbled with gratitude at what Christ has done for us. For those sins we are aware of, we need to repent, ask God for forgiveness, and make restitution when possible. Once we are saved, we are no longer slaves to our sin nature. This should become more and more evident as we grow in our faith. But Jesus’ sacrifice was so complete, that He has even covered the sins we aren’t aware we have committed! But once we have repented of a sin and asked God for forgiveness, we can forget it and never bring it to mind! God doesn’t! The only reason Christians should ever bring past sins to mind is to keep them from repeating them. But the guilt, regret, and the shame of it should be forgotten for good.
God’s mercies are new every morning, not just once a year! So, as you sing, “Take a cup of kindness,” think of the barrel-full of kindness God gives to His people! I don’t know whether or not you should forget your old acquaintances, but I do know that for the Christian, your past sin should be forgotten and never brought to mind!
We pray that 2019 brings you closer to our Lord and Savior, Jesus, and that you revel in His steadfast love and mercies!
