Oh, now I remember...
In the Bible, there are stories where an important event happens, and God wants people to remember what happened. Or they want to remember what happened. So they place an object, and the object is placed for the specific purpose of jogging the memory, if you will.
After God spoke to Jacob in a dream, Jacob erected a pillar of stones at Bethel. After God held back the Jordan River so the nation of Israel could cross, God told them to erect a pile of stones next to the Jordan River. These were for the purpose of remembering.
In the books of the Bible that tell of the earthly life of Jesus, we find that He had a conversation with His disciple, Peter, in which He foretold that Peter would deny knowing Him. When Peter bristled at the thought, Jesus told Peter that before the rooster crowed three times, Peter would deny Him. When the moment of Peter's denial happened, the rooster crowed. And Peter remembered.
In each case, these people remembered, but the memory is more than just a recollection: in a moment, senses relive what it was like to be there, what it felt like, what it looked like, the smells, the emotions, all of it comes racing back in a single moment.
And at the very same time, a very distinct realization of where the present is in relation to that moment comes washing over. The Bible recounts that upon hearing the rooster, Peter wept bitterly, realizing where his present was in relation to where he had been. He was doing the very thing that, in that heady moment with Jesus, he had promised he'd never do.
Herein lies the value of such placements, such objects. In a moment, they snap you back to that moment in time, and give you a sense of what has changed, or not changed.
I thought of this about 3:00 this morning.
I couldn't sleep. I gave up trying about 1, and went into the basement to the room that I designated as my place to study. It had become mostly a storage room for books and other things, but I was determined to reclaim this space. And, like I said, I couldn't sleep.
So I'm sorting papers, throwing away things, stacking, organizing, dusting, and so on. I don't like to hold on to a lot of things I don't need, but sermon notes, and notes of every variety, have been things I've always held on to. I always figure that I'll look through the sermon notes and get ideas for my own sermons. That has never worked, but I keep trying.
So I'm sorting stuff, and I come upon this:
I read this, and in a moment, I was transported to a secluded river bank at a camp in Iowa, where five years ago, I confronted God. I felt the sun filtering through the leaves and reflecting off the water, the urgency in my voice as I pleaded with God for the hearts of my teenagers. I remembered the helplessness I felt as I told God that if He didn't do something, directions of young lives were going to be altered toward apathy, toward their flesh, toward being messed up.
And on that river bank, as I pleaded for the hearts of my teens, I pleaded with God for my heart, too. I told Him I was tired of mediocre relationship, of being a follower of Christ who hadn't bought in entirely. I confessed areas where I had left God out of the picture, where I had committed sin.
And I made promises.
Promises which I had totally forgotten until 3:00 this morning.
I vowed to stop reading the Life section of USA Today? It's been at least a year since I haven't not read the Life section of USA Today. Stop purchasing magazines without Kristy looking through them first? I haven't purchased many magazines, but I'd forgotten about that, too. Unplug the antenna from my TV? Did it for a while, but not recently. First hour of my day to God? It's been a struggle sometimes, sticking God with the leftovers of my day.
Wow. And I can't even explain them away: I wrote them down.
I had to read it twice, just to let it soak in properly. A nice memory of God working in lives turned into a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach as I realized where I was at 3:00 this morning in relation to where I had been on July 20 five years ago.
I'm not proud of where I've ended up with these vows, but I'm thankful that God gave me an object that jolted my memory, and that He forgives me when I confess my sins. I'm thankful that I have the chance to remember, the chance to reorient my direction, and the chance to pursue Him with my life.
I remember, God. Thanks for the reminder.
Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:
And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:
That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?
Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.
-The Bible, Joshua 4:4-7
After God spoke to Jacob in a dream, Jacob erected a pillar of stones at Bethel. After God held back the Jordan River so the nation of Israel could cross, God told them to erect a pile of stones next to the Jordan River. These were for the purpose of remembering.
In the books of the Bible that tell of the earthly life of Jesus, we find that He had a conversation with His disciple, Peter, in which He foretold that Peter would deny knowing Him. When Peter bristled at the thought, Jesus told Peter that before the rooster crowed three times, Peter would deny Him. When the moment of Peter's denial happened, the rooster crowed. And Peter remembered.
In each case, these people remembered, but the memory is more than just a recollection: in a moment, senses relive what it was like to be there, what it felt like, what it looked like, the smells, the emotions, all of it comes racing back in a single moment.
And at the very same time, a very distinct realization of where the present is in relation to that moment comes washing over. The Bible recounts that upon hearing the rooster, Peter wept bitterly, realizing where his present was in relation to where he had been. He was doing the very thing that, in that heady moment with Jesus, he had promised he'd never do.
Herein lies the value of such placements, such objects. In a moment, they snap you back to that moment in time, and give you a sense of what has changed, or not changed.
I thought of this about 3:00 this morning.
I couldn't sleep. I gave up trying about 1, and went into the basement to the room that I designated as my place to study. It had become mostly a storage room for books and other things, but I was determined to reclaim this space. And, like I said, I couldn't sleep.
So I'm sorting papers, throwing away things, stacking, organizing, dusting, and so on. I don't like to hold on to a lot of things I don't need, but sermon notes, and notes of every variety, have been things I've always held on to. I always figure that I'll look through the sermon notes and get ideas for my own sermons. That has never worked, but I keep trying.
So I'm sorting stuff, and I come upon this:
I read this, and in a moment, I was transported to a secluded river bank at a camp in Iowa, where five years ago, I confronted God. I felt the sun filtering through the leaves and reflecting off the water, the urgency in my voice as I pleaded with God for the hearts of my teenagers. I remembered the helplessness I felt as I told God that if He didn't do something, directions of young lives were going to be altered toward apathy, toward their flesh, toward being messed up.
And on that river bank, as I pleaded for the hearts of my teens, I pleaded with God for my heart, too. I told Him I was tired of mediocre relationship, of being a follower of Christ who hadn't bought in entirely. I confessed areas where I had left God out of the picture, where I had committed sin.
And I made promises.
Promises which I had totally forgotten until 3:00 this morning.
I vowed to stop reading the Life section of USA Today? It's been at least a year since I haven't not read the Life section of USA Today. Stop purchasing magazines without Kristy looking through them first? I haven't purchased many magazines, but I'd forgotten about that, too. Unplug the antenna from my TV? Did it for a while, but not recently. First hour of my day to God? It's been a struggle sometimes, sticking God with the leftovers of my day.
Wow. And I can't even explain them away: I wrote them down.
I had to read it twice, just to let it soak in properly. A nice memory of God working in lives turned into a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach as I realized where I was at 3:00 this morning in relation to where I had been on July 20 five years ago.
I'm not proud of where I've ended up with these vows, but I'm thankful that God gave me an object that jolted my memory, and that He forgives me when I confess my sins. I'm thankful that I have the chance to remember, the chance to reorient my direction, and the chance to pursue Him with my life.
I remember, God. Thanks for the reminder.
Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:
And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:
That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?
Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.
-The Bible, Joshua 4:4-7
posted by pastor mike at 12:36 AM
1 Comments:
Mike,
I know that you are waiting to become a pastor of a church so that you can be a blessing to them. But I want you to know that you are being a blessing right now. Have patience; God is doing good things through you.
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