Remember Series

On Monday, our nation marked Memorial Day. This day, formerly known as Decoration Day, was established so we never forget the ultimate sacrifice men and women in the military made for us. Monuments, memorials, and even parades are designed to help us remember not to ever forget.

I came across an image that captures this well. A businessman with his head bowed, placed his hand on a Memorial Wall. In the reflection you can see images of soldiers who have died, one with his hand up to meet his. I posted this picture on Monday and added this phrase, “Don’t ever forget to remember...and remember to not ever forget.”

Last week many of you rediscovered hope as we learned how God can restore what has been ruined. Our focus today is on another word that begins with “Re” – “Remember.” Here’s what I’m hoping we get: Don’t ever forget to remember what God has done for you.

The word “remember” means, “to recall, to mark, to set aside.” In the Bible, “remembering” is not just bringing something back to mind; it implies a change of behavior, so our lives line up with what we’ve been reminded of. Remembering is not a passive attitude; it’s a proactive activity which leads to action. We’re to ponder and then put into practice. We’re called to remember so we can recalibrate our lives according to what’s being remembered.

Michael Horton writes: “In our Western intellectual heritage, ‘remembering’ means ‘recollecting something that is no longer a present reality.’ Nothing could be further from a Jewish conception. For example, in [their practice], ‘remembering’ means participating here and now in certain defining events in the past and also in the future.’”

In this sense, to remember is “to embrace and own for ourselves.” The word “remember” is used over 200 times in the Bible, because we tend to forget God’s faithfulness while neglecting our faith. In short, we need reminders to remember because if we don’t, we’ll rebel.

One of the results of living in a fallen world is forgetfulness. That’s why God spends so much time encouraging us to remember. Here’s a brief selection of Scriptures.

• Deuteronomy 9:7: “Remember and do not forget how you provoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day you came out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the LORD.”

• Psalm 106:7: “They did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.”

• Ecclesiastes 12:1: “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth…”

• Lamentations 3:21: “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope.”

• 2 Timothy 2:8: “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel.”

• 2 Peter 1:12-13: “Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder.”

• 2 Peter 3:1-2: “…I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets…”

• Revelation 2:5: “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the works you did at first…”

Don’t ever forget to remember what God has done for you.

Going Way Back

The preeminent picture of redemption in the Old Testament is the exodus of Israel from Egypt, memorialized in the Passover meal. In Exodus 12, we learn about the roots of Passover. The head of the family was to take a lamb without blemish and slaughter it at twilight. Then, the blood was to be placed on the sides and tops of the doorframes. That same night the family ate a meal of roasted lamb, bitter herbs, and unleavened bread. They were to eat in haste and be ready to travel because God was about to unleash the 10th plague on the Egyptians by killing their firstborn. Only those who were under the blood of the lamb would be “passed over.”

After being freed from the Egyptians, God’s people enjoyed a covenantal relationship with the Almighty for hundreds of years. Passover became an annual memorial meal for the Israelites as seen in verse 25: “And when you come to the land that the LORD will give you, as He has promised, you shall keep this service.” This meal was designed as a yearly reminder of who – or whose – they were. One commentator said, “It’s not dry history to be learned but dynamic history to be lived. They participated in the meal because they were partakers in the reality of this redemption as Israelites.”