Let us not forget that we forget far too easily!
Take for example, one of the pastors during a pastor's conference, who was
looking everywhere for his glasses.
"Where are they?"
He
wondered out loud.
His colleagues were laughing like crazy, some even falling on the floor, holding
their tummies. (What a bunch! And these were his colleagues!) Finally one of
them, out of compassion, told him where they were. He had been wearing them on
the top of his head all that time!
My wife, too, specializes in leaving her glasses lying around. I enjoy bringing
them to her, whenever they cross my path. Good thing that she has two pairs!
All of us have experienced similar adventures with keys and wallets, to the
point that you have to wonder if these things actually have legs!
On my trip to celebrate our 25th anniversary in New Zealand, I left my printed
itinerary at home. I had a backup on my portable key, but it got corrupted when
someone attempted to open it. Good thing Gmail keeps all emails online!
We have to admit it, we are all forgetful. Funny thing is, we usually remember
the silliest things, down to their tiniest detail, but the important things like
wallets, passports, itineraries and glasses are out of our grasp!
The same is true with what God (our focus in life!)
has
done for us! We pray for something specific in the morning, and at night, when
we go to bed, we don't even realize that God has granted our request!
Old Testament stories confirm that this is not a new phenomenon. In fact, the
entire Old Testament can be summarized as follows: God shows up, He performs
amazing things for His Children, they rejoice, and then, eventually, usually
sooner rather than later, they forget and start running after idols. Calamity
strikes and they cry out for deliverance, God shows up, He performs amazing
things, there is great rejoicing, and then the people forget and history
continues to repeat itself.
No wonder they are reminded constantly: "Only be careful, and watch yourselves
closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them
slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to
their children after them." (Deut 4:9 NIV)
It was no better in New Testament times, however the stakes became higher.
God showed up in person and paid the ultimate price
for our salvation. He knows of our human tendency to forget, so the evening
before His arrest, He established communion with these words "Do this to
remember me." (See Luke 22:19)
Did they even remember? "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the
one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different
gospel-which is really no gospel at all." (Gal 1:6-7 NIV)
Do we remember even now?
Too often we let the evil one steal our story through discouragement, lies and
addictions, or even worse, we lose the story ourselves, distracted by the truly
unimportant things that we label as "urgent".
I really believe that Blaise Pascal, the famous French mathematician and
physicist, was aware of our tendency as well. On November 23, 1654, the night of
his conversion to Christianity on, he wrote the following words on a piece of
paper:
"This day of Grace 1654; From about half past ten at night, to about half after
midnight, Fire. Fire. God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, Not of the
philosophers and the wise. Security, security. Feeling, joy, peace. God of Jesus
Christ Thy God shall be my God. Forgetfulness of the world and of all save God.
He can be found only in the ways taught in the Gospel. Greatness of the human
soul. Greatness of the human soul. O righteous Father the world hath not known
Thee, but I have known Thee Joy, joy, joy, tears of joy. I have separated myself
from Him. My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?... That I be not separated from
Thee eternally. This is life eternal: That they might know Thee the only true
God, and Him whom Thou hast sent, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ. I
have separated myself from Him; I have fled, renounced, crucified Him. May I
never be separated from Him. May I never be separated from Him He maintains
Himself in me only in the way taught in the Gospel. Renunciation total and
sweet."
When he passed away, a piece of paper was found sewn inside his shirt, right
over his heart. It was the very piece of paper he had written that night of his
conversion. He never ever wanted to forget what our amazing God meant to Him.
What will we do in order to not forget our true desire, because forgetting we
will and this may cause great headaches and defeats in our life!
Some do journaling. I enjoy writing inspirational stories. Whatever you do in
order to not forget, make sure you come back to it over and over and pray for
our loving Heavenly Father to help us remember. Only then can we truly rejoice
in the victory bestowed on us by Jesus Himself.
"God, who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life
of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget
that." (1 Cor 1:9 The Message)
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
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The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.