Articles
In Remembrance
In Remembrance
“Memories are the key not to the past, but to the future.” ~Corrie ten Boom
The memory of man is a fickle thing. How often is it that we walk into a room and forge why we came into that room in the first place? How often is it that we are reminded of something we wish we could forget? Some will tie a string around their finger (or, in modernity, use a Post-It note) just to not forget something important or something that needs to be done. I have one (a Post-It note) staring at me on my desk as I write this reminding me of something I needed to do yesterday and forgot all about. What did you eat for supper last Tuesday?
Remembering is something we all must work on at times. God knew this. In the Old Testament, we look back at the Israelites who were ushered out of Egypt by Moses and the pillar of God, and we tend to wonder how these people could be so forgetful! How could they deny what they had seen with their own eyes, and put credit to an idol they knew was made from the gold of their possessions? I am not convinced they did forget, rather that the temptation of the world got the best of them. God set up feast days, and ritual, and things in their daily life to remind them of who God is, yet they “forgot.”
In the New Testament, Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me,” as He instituted the Lord’s supper. (Luke 22:19 and I Corinthians 11:24) He instituted this so that we make a special effort to remember Him every Sunday. When we come together, every first day of the sabbath week (I Corinthians 16:2), we put aside ourselves and our worldly desires, and worldly thoughts and focus on the spiritual. We study His Word, we pray, we give, we sing, and we partake in remembrance. It is true what Will Durant wrote as he summarized Aristotle: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit.”
Remembering is one thing. One can remember and think about God all they wish form anywhere they wish, but if one is not in the habit of doing the things, and placing them into the routine of our lives, they are novel. They spark our interest and are desirable but are not of continuing interest. Those things just fade away as we continue with what we know and desire in our lives.
Being a Christian is not about going to church. Many sit in a pew every Sunday and are not Christian. Being a Christian is not about partaking of the Lord’s Supper. Many will not heed the warning of I Corinthians 11:29 and eat and drink damnation on themselves. Being a Christian is not about how much one gives to the church. Jesus told us in Mark 12:41-44 that the dollar amount does not matter. Being a Christian is a state of being, of existing, always, as what we are. Being a Christian means we go throughout lives and cannot help but be a Christian. We are repulsed by sin, always. We are repulsed by the world in its dying state, always. We do not go to church because we are required to, but because it is where we want to be, and it is the people we enjoy being with. We grow weary with the world in the same way Paul did in Philippians 1:21 where he was looking forward to his reward at the end of this life, but he understood that we have a job to do: to love one another, guiding others to Christ.
As we gather together to remember and transform our lives, remembrance is no longer necessary. Instead, it becomes a part of us as our old self is put away. We remember less about what Christ did, but how He gave us the new life we live today. We remember who we were and are thankful to Him for His sacrifice that we might live new.
Lance Byers
1/4/2025
- In_Remembrance_01-04-25.pdf (54.12 kB)
