Times of Memorial
Memorial Day is a cherished national holiday, as well
it should be. While many have relegated this day of remembrance to a
paid day off from work, it continues to focus our attention upon the
millions of brave men and women who served honorably in the armed
forces of our nation, and gave the ultimate sacrifice for the
freedoms we hold dear.
Times of memorial are meaningful, especially in
biblical terms, which is why God through the scriptures has taught
us to remember certain personages and events as a standard routine
in our Christian walk. This does not equate to living in the past.
It rather serves to remind us how past events can have a direct
bearing upon the present...and the future as well!
Remembering is a worthy activity because it is
God-like (or godly) to do so. In fact, the first biblical mention of
remembering finds the Lord declaring: “And I will remember my
covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of
all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy
all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon
it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and
every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth” (Genesis
9:15-16). The God who remembers his covenants is the One who first
establishes them (9:9, 11, 17). They are a matter of sovereign
determination! If God chooses to establish a covenant with mankind,
he never forgets it! He always remembers!
Moses, as God’s spokesperson, called upon Israel to
“Remember this [Passover] day” in which they came out from Egypt and
the house of bondage by the Lord’s strong hand (Exodus 13:3). In the
giving of the law at Sinai, the Lord said: “Remember the Sabbath
day, to keep it holy” (20:8). If they had diligently remembered
these basic statutes, and observed them, it would have spared them a
lot of self-inflicted trouble, and perhaps saved an entire
generation from death in the wilderness.
Unfortunately, that multitude was mixed, and often
found themselves lusting after the things of old, as evidenced by
this confession: “We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt
freely; the cucumbers, the melons, and the leeks, and the onions,
and the garlick: But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at
all, besides this manna, before our eyes” (Numbers 11:5-6). The
memories of “good eats” in Egypt were harmless. But the context in
which they summoned them called into question God’s ability to
provide and make good on his promise to deliver a land flowing with
milk and honey.
That mixed multitude died before seeing the first
acre of promised land. Before they entered the land of promise, God
charged Israel to remember the manner in which he led and kept them
through forty years in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 8:2). And again:
“But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth
thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which
he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day” (8:19). The price tag
for forgetting was perishing (8:19-20).
The Lord Jesus gave one of the more powerful
admonitions for remembering: “Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32). The
context was the revelation of the Son of man in the last days. The
warning underlined the danger of having one’s heartstrings so
entwined with earthly possessions (i.e., materialism) that it
obscures that which is truly substantive in life—being in the will
of God and pleasing him in the process. In violation of the
messenger’s command, Lot’s wife looked back, and became a pillar of
salt. In looking back, I believe Lot’s wife displayed the same
mindset as did Eve when she ate the forbidden fruit: that is, the
will of God was deemed counterproductive to what they thought was in
their best interests at the time. This same mindset has sabotaged
many a ministerial career, and led to much heartache. Remember Lot’s
wife!
In his last words to Timothy, Paul said: “Remember
that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead
according to my gospel” (2 Timothy 2:8). It was an important
reminder to a young preacher from a war-torn veteran who was about
to die for that gospel. In his pastoral work, Timothy would be
subjected to many trials and tribulations—many of which would not
rival death. But what if they did? Was Timothy any better than his
mentor? Was either any better than the Christ they preached? The
gospel of the resurrected Christ, if kept in the forefront of the
young preacher’s thinking, would suffice to sustain him in any and
every trial!
Let’s take this time of
memorial to reflect upon those things that really matter. These
would include Christ our Passover Lamb, our deliverance from sin’s
bondage, God’s commitment to his covenants, the dangers of being
entangled with the things of this world, and the death-defeating
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ!
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