Here’s a friendly reminder. It’s Memorial Day weekend and there’s a specific time on Monday when we’re invited to officially remember those who’ve given their lives for our country. The “National Moment of Remembrance” resolution passed on Dec 2000 and asks that on Monday, at 3 p.m. local time, all Americans “… voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to ‘Taps.’” Let’s try to remember the “moment of remembrance.”
Reminders to remember are increasingly necessary for me. Remembering is increasingly a challenge although I’m sure it has nothing to do with my advancing years (gulp). Actually, the merging of the aging process with forgetfulness isn’t all bad, since I’ve discovered invoking the “age clause” actually grants me some disciplinary leeway. My loving wife says, “Why didn’t you tell me that?” to which I respond, “I thought I did.” “No you didn’t.” My response: “I thought I did…must be getting old.” A fellow church staffer asks, “Did you follow up with those folks?” To which I respond, “So sorry, I forgot. Must be the age thing.” I’ve labeled those responses “strategic forgetfulness,” an effective tool in sidestepping responsibility. I’m just not convinced my wife and the church staff are buying it.
Strategic forgetfulness reflects one of the common problems of God’s people throughout the Bible. As God continually intervened on behalf of Old Testament Israel, He routinely reminded them to remember His past interventions. Inevitably, Israel found themselves in their next self-inflicted tight spot due to their strategic forgetfulness of God’s previous activity. They knew better. They chose to forget. They chose to disobey. Perhaps it was their age.
Throughout Old Testament history God commanded, “don’t forget me, don’t forget my covenant promises, don’t forget to obey, don’t forget my holy mountain…” among others. Israel often responded with a corporate “oops…sorry…we forgot!” and for the record Israel’s strategic forgetfulness always came at a great price. Sadly, we contemporary Christians often perpetuate the legacy of the forgetful faithful. We’re often quick to abdicate our commitments to God or conveniently fail to recall the commands of His Word because the costs appear to outweigh the benefits. It’s human nature.
The good news today is that we worship and serve a God who never forgets. He never forgets his role as creator and sustainer of the universe. He never forgets His personal plan of redemption or providential direction for our lives. The God of the universe never forgets. With one exception! Ironically, while an eternal God would never use age as an excuse, strategic forgetfulness is still a quality of his divine character. His strategic forgetfulness is not a function of age, ambivalence, or a flaw in his divine character. God’s strategic forgetfulness is a function of His intentional act of saving grace through Jesus’ sacrifice on a cross. When God says “…I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (Heb. 8:12), it’s a testimony to God’s divine commitment of forgetting what needs to be permanently forgotten. It’s His assurance that when we confess our sins, they’ll be strategically and permanently forgotten and eternally erased from His divine memory. It’s a monumental promise that God offers to us out of the immensity of His grace.
It’s one promise I pray we will never forget.