Unless We Remember...

January 30

Absent-mindedness is a trait some people demonstrate all their lives but it is one that eventually catches up with almost everybody. While some young individuals become so preoccupied with the matters at hand that they can scarcely keep track of them, older people are notorious for their inability to retain the simplest facts.

The observation that has been made regarding seniors is that they can recall the minutia of a by-gone point in time but can’t remember what they did this morning. By the time we’re old enough to assess that theory, we may not be able to remember that there is such a theory!

In Psalm 103:2, 3, David alludes to the human proclivity toward forgetfulness. Here the Psalmist reminds himself, “Praise the Lord, O, my soul, and forget not all His benefits. Remember the One who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases.” David is addressing the inclination we have to forget the tentacles of sin from which the Lord has rescued us. We come away from the deprivation and sickness and death of its awful bondage to our place of freedom and we allow ourselves to become comfortable in our new circumstances.

Certainly, we go through the motions of worship and praise. Yes, we now fellowship with like-minded people, tithe to the church, give to missions, but unless we remember where we were before we knew Him, we will find ourselves becoming perfunctory believers. We must not allow ourselves to be complacent about the wretched state from which we were delivered, for if we forget, we will not concern ourselves with Christ’s admonition to, “…preach the gospel to every creature,” (Mark 16:15). Indeed we must, for, “…how shall they hear without a preacher?” Romans 10:14.