On reading the book of Joshua recently, I was struck by the number of times that God ordered His people to set up reminders of what He had done for them. I tend to write reminders on bits of paper, but others will use their smartphones or their computers. In Joshua 4, God used twelve memorial stones set up in the middle of the Jordan River as ‘a memorial forever’ so that Israel would remember the miraculous crossing of the river on the way to
conquering the Promised Land. Stones were also set up in the Valley of Achor (Trouble) so that Israel would remember God’s wrath against covetous Achan (Josh.7:25-26). Later, the eastern tribes of Gad, Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh set up an imposing altar by the Jordan. This was designed to be a witness to the unity of God’s people in His promises but, ironically enough, it almost led to war with the western tribes as they mistook it for an altar of sacrifice (Josh.22). As Joshua neared death, he had a large stone set up under the terebinth tree at Shechem as a witness against Israel for when she disobeyed the revealed Word of God (Josh.24:26-27). No doubt it also served as a reminder to Israel. However, stones will not serve as memorials for God’s people in every time and place.
Yet the problem remains. Time rushes on, with too few moments for reflection, and we soon forget more than we knew. To cite Charles Wesley’s hymn:
Our life is a dread,
Our time as a stream
Glides swiftly away,
And the fugitive moment refuses to stay.
If our lives are fleeting, so too are our memories.
In prosperous times, we are likely to forget that it is God who blesses as He chooses (Deut.8:18). David called on Israel to seek the Lord, and ‘Remember the wondrous works that He has done; His miracles and the judgments He uttered’ (1 Chron.16:12). Young people are urged not just to trust their Creator, but to remember Him in the days of their youth (Eccles.12:1). As sinners, driven by sinful hearts and minds, we find it all too easy to forget that the ‘T’ is there in Total Depravity (Eph.2:12). To remember this is a stepping stone to increasing our gratitude to God for His undeserved grace and favour. Similarly, to ‘remember Lot’s wife’ is to be jolted into being more mindful about the holy justice of God, and the dreadful fate for those who discard His warnings (Luke 17:32).
Paul calls on Timothy to ‘remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead’ (2 Tim. 2:8), obviously implying that the risen Christ ought to be in the forefront of our thinking. So wayward are our memories that Paul told the Philippians: ‘To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you’ (Phil.3:1). Peter’s second letter, written very near the end of his life, was also designed to remind more than teach (2 Pet.1:12, 13, 15; 3:1-2). Alexander Nisbet comments that the nearer our journey’s end, the faster we should run. Dr Samuel Johnson too notes that ‘People need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed.’ Much of Christian instruction is repetition without sounding like we are treading water.
Certain dates can be memorable, and so serve as reminders to us. John Wesley always remembered 9 February 1709 when, as a six year old, he was saved from his father’s burning rectory just before the roof caved in. In 1753 Wesley became so ill that he expected to die, and he wrote his own epitaph, calling himself ‘A brand, not once only, plucked out of the fire.’ John Newton remembered 21 March 1748 (it was actually March 10 in the old Julian calendar but it became 21 March when the Gregorian calendar was adopted in 1752). Newton was on board the Greyhound which was sailing east across the Atlantic when it was caught in a fierce storm, and so scarcely made it to the coast of Ireland. Ever afterwards, Newton would remember 21 March each year: ‘On that day the Lord sent from on high and delivered me out of deep waters.’
The Lord Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper as a gospel ordinance, declaring: ‘This is My body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me’ (Luke 22:19). This memorial – which is also a means of fellowship, a proclamation of the gospel, and an expression of thanksgiving – is a gift from the Lord who ‘remembers that we are dust’ (Ps.103:14) and ‘remembers His covenant forever’ (Ps.105:8). We need reminders, and God makes wonderful provision for that. Most wonderfully of all for God’s people concerns what He forgets: He promises that in Christ He will remember our sins no more (Jer.31:34; Heb.8:12)
With warmest regards in Christ,
Peter Barnes