IN REMEMBRANCE OF HIM
It has been said that, "Those who forget the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them." This is true of our nation and of mankind in general, because there is no doubt that human beings are forgetful creatures, even about the most important things in their lives. Time has a way of making us forget the most meaningful things that have been said to and done for us, by the people that we care for deeply. We forget the lessons of past experiences which causes us to inevitably repeat them again, and we fail to recall the steps we took to ensure that they would never happen again. So it is in the natural world as it is in the spiritual realm, and so it is with the nation of Israel as it is with the child of God in the Church today.
Over and over again, the voice of the Law and of the Prophets echo the pleading of our loving heavenly Father, who knows us all too well, “Beware that you do not forget, don’t forsake, remember, take heed, keep and obey, etc…” But over and over again these words are met with ears that do not hear, with eyes that do not see, and with hearts that do not understand. Why? Because it is easier to eat fruit than it is to produce fruit. We get tired and lazy and cease diligently seeking after a deeper relationship with God, satisfied with our own preconceived notions of spiritual maturity and what it means to be saved. Our hearts become hard, our spiritual walk with Him becomes a ritual crawl, the churches He planted become our mausoleums, and His movements become our monuments. All because we forgot who God really is and what He has done for us; which is why we started serving Him in the first place.
If we are to ‘practice better remembering’ in regards to God’s precious gift of salvation, it would behoove us to first practice stirring up those memories. I refer of course to Peter’s 2nd epistle just before he ‘put off his tent’. He wrote, “…brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you…” (2 Peter 1:10-13) So no matter how much we think we might know or how established in the present truth we may feel that we are, we must be diligent to continually stir up these truths of the immense gift of God’s grace and our response to it, by reading and studying His word, not only academically but devotionally as well. That is where the Holy Spirit will meet with us, and as we abide in His word, His words will abide in us and work it out in our life.
Of course we are called to help others draw closer to the Lord as well and this can become very challenging in our local churches. The task of continually challenging people to remember and obey the same truths, in a creative and meaningful way, can be a daunting task for the most gifted among us. The Jews were commanded by God to continually reflect back upon the Exodus and the miraculous wonders that He performed on their behalf, by observing a variety of annual feasts and celebrations, and to recite these things to their children and their children’s children.
In the New Testament Church we are also given a powerful example to remind us of God’s Grace: the communion service. Jesus said, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” (1 Cor 11:25) It is abundantly clear that Jesus desires that we remember what He has done for us, but He had no intention that we turn the occasion into a cold, repetitive, and somber ritual that sucks the life out of the room. Rather, it represented life and life more abundant, eternal life. So whenever we meet and for whatever reason we meet as the Body of Christ, it’s not the form or the function by which we remember and obey, nor is it the style or the manner in which we say it. Rather, it’s the heart in which we express it and the heart in which it’s received that matters.
Having a fresh and new approach every time, allowing a variety of different people to express what it means to them and how it has affected them, being spontaneous and avoiding ritualistic or habitual patterns of worship, are all good and helpful approaches, but ultimately it depends upon the soil into which the seed falls, as to the abundance of the fruit produced. That is where the focus of Christian ministry should be directed: at the heart! It will do no good to remind someone who doesn’t care about what Christ has done for them.
