Do you love me, do you not? You told me once but I forgot. ~Elena Helms
Which command is repeated most often in the Old Testament?
- Not… do good.
- Not…obey me.
- Not… stop that!
Instead, two hundred and thirty-two times we encounter the Hebrew word, zakar, “remember.”
Remember:
- How you were once slaves, and suffered, so don’t work like you are still in chains, don’t abuse others as if you have no scars.
- How God delivered you from the might of Egypt when nobody else could, so don’t rely on lesser gods when calamity strikes again.
- God’s wonders, compassion and kindness in the past–he’s the same God at work in your circumstances now.
We can remember because God does not forget:
- That we are temporary, like flowers fading in the meadow.
- That his love and faithfulness are all we have to depend on.
- The unshakable covenant, the promise he has made,
“Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” (Genesis 9:16)
Don’t Forget To Remember
Amnesia is common among us. Ancient hurts, recent worries, beguiling lies and propaganda beckon with an HD glow, and we forget. We become disoriented, and circle our hopes around our sanctity, our strength, our successes, in the hopeless task of becoming something we were never meant to be. We gaze into the mirror of our own dazzling delusions and plunge unthinkingly into self-worship or self-disgust.
How we need a bright red dot to tell us “you are here” and an arrow to direct us where we need to be.
And God knows this. The Bible, well-read, is our guide, our story within its story, a road map into the future, a firm foothold when all else fails. Over and over we are told to remember, like this:
“I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, ‘The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.’ The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.“ (Lamentations 3:19-26)
Read it again, as if it told your tale. It takes practice to not forget.
How has amnesia left you spinning lately?
Deuteronomy 5:15; Exodus 22:21; 1 Chronicles 16:12; Isaiah 46:9; Psalm 103:13-17; 98:3
In our series, An Alphabet Adagio, we are savoring the story of the Bible, our story, alphabetically. You can subscribe to e-mail at the bottom of this page so you won’t miss a letter.
Photograph by Melanie Hunt
