There are lots of things for us to remember. Like our Social Security number, Drivers license, all of our passwords, birthdays and our wedding anniversary. It can get pretty easy to forget some of them, usually at the worst times. There are some occasions that are more easily remembered because the news media help us by reminding us.
There are some events and deeds that deserve our efforts to remember. As a nation, we need to remember those who died or were injured in wars, both foreign and domestic. Many of us alive today can remember June 6, 1944, the date of the D-Day Invasion on the beaches of Normandy, France. According to official sources:
“Over 425,000 Allied and German troops were killed, wounded or missing during the Battle of Normandy. This figure includes over 209,000 Allied casualties, with nearly 37,000 dead amongst the ground forces and a further 16,714 deaths amongst the Allied air forces.”
Those numbers represent many people from different walks of life. As a nation, we understand the importance of remembering them and why those battles were fought. It is something we know we ought to remember.
We celebrate Memorial Day in our nation, not to promote war, but to remember those who died for a just cause. We remember great deeds done unselfishly by ordinary people. We are a people who remember what must never be forgotten.
We display the flag. We wear lapel pins. We call out the names of the dead we honor. We offer prayers. We don’t want to forget – we must not forget the things we really must remember.
Being a part of this nation, even if there are no laws that require our “remembering”, we know we are indebted to those who did that which is worthy of our memory, our gratitude.
What or who is worthy of our gratitude and our honor today? In addition to men and women whose lives declare their love for our country, our history, and our heroes, we can all recall matters in the Bible that should be a part of our memory.
Psalms 119, the longest chapter in the Bible (176 verses), reminds us of our need to keep things in our memory:
“Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee…I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways…Thy testimonies are my delight and my counselors…I will meditate in thy statutes…O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day…Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (all quotes from Psalm 119).
This wonderful passage from the heart of God extols the bliss of being God’s people and the need to seek Him with our whole heart. We can never be the people who please God until we recall and live in harmony with the precepts of His will.
A very memorable passage in Acts 20:35 also tells us:
“Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
These words are not found in the gospel accounts, but Luke, in the book of Acts, gives us their source – Jesus Himself! We would all be better people if we remembered to have the proper attitude of giving and receiving.
The Lord’s Supper is a means by which we may benefit from the use of our memory. Jesus said in Luke 22:19:
“This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.”
Yes, we must “remember” Who Jesus is and what He did for us. Only then can we be motivated to live as He lived, and worship Him “in spirit and in truth,” John 4:24.
As wonderful as a good memory can be, there are times in which to forget is even better. Those who have gone through hard times know how good it is to put bad memories aside for a time. Those unkind words or deeds that we often seem to hold in our memory, would really best be forgotten. “Forgive and Forget” is a motto that can relieve you from memories that are painful and also prevent us from holding a grudge over something that is better forgotten.
We all need to carry memories that are valuable, but as one sage has written, “Don’t forget to remember to forget!” That’s worth thinking about.
