Will We Never Forget?

 "The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like the flower of a field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more." Psalm 103:15-16

    "Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day?" - Alan Jackson

    At a classic car show proudly stood a work of art. A pick-up truck, custom-painted on all sides with various patriotic scenes as two full-sized American flags, that were attached at the sides, fluttered in the breezes of Lake Erie, drew the attention of many. The Statue of Liberty held her torch on the tailgate as the black smoke of the Twin Towers scarred the blue sky of that day. Above was this sober reminder: We Will Never Forget!

    Indeed, anyone over the age of thirty can recall exactly where they were on that day. Yet, unbelievably, amnesia seems to have encroached the minds of some or there would not be a Muslim mayor in New York City today.

    Memory can be selective. How many of us can recall a hurtful comment spoken years ago, yet have trouble remembering what was received on Christmas last year?

    We tend to be forgetful, which is why God established festivals, dates of remembrance, or memorials, such as the twelve stones that were brought up out of the Jordan River. They were put down in a prominent place within the camp of the Israelites so, in the future when their children inquired about them, they'd be told about the miraculous day when the Lord cut off the flow of the river so the entire nation could cross on dry ground (Joshua 4:1-7).

    But of what value are memorials if the event is not recounted honestly? Memorials can be torn down. History can be rewritten.

    Remembering an event is quite hinged on truth. How do we recall what happened? It boils down to a common phrase we hear in our culture: You have your truth, I have mine. Already it's been said children are being taught in our schools that 9/11 was America's fault. I wonder how the survivors of the deceased feel about that?

    Go back one generation to World War II. There are some who aver that the Holocaust never even happened, though I am young enough to remember hearing Corrie Ten Boom, an Auschwitz survivor, recounting those days as she traveled the world with the Billy Graham Crusades. I wonder how the survivors feel about that?

    The Christian faith rests on the foundation of the resurrection of Jesus Christ for which His disciples were martyred, yet the disbelief continues with such preposterous ideas as this, that Christ simply swooned on the cross, and, though thoroughly flogged and beaten, rolled the stone away and slipped out. Jesus predicted such hard-heartedness in Luke 16:31 when He said, "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead."

    How true.

    Revert further to the very onset of time, when "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). "Created? Bah!" say the scoffers. "Don't tell me you believe in that fairy tale? I have evolved! I don't need God. I have built myself up from the sweat of my brow." I wonder how God feels about that?

    Will we truly never forget?

    Now let's take a look at God's memory. How does He remember things?

"Does a young woman forget her jewelry, a bride her wedding ornaments? Yet my people have forgotten me, days without number." Jeremiah 2:32

"Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he made with you: do not make for yourselves an idol..." Deuteronomy 4:23

"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has bourne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me." Isaiah 49: 15-16

    Over the generations, God has faithfully held out his hands to an obstinate people pleading for us to "Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest...You will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:28-29) He even came down here in Person and laid down His life as a sacrifice for our sins. What more does He have to do?

    You know what God has forgotten? For those who trust in Christ...

    "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sin no more." Isaiah 43:25

        Never forget what God has done for you, and He will forget all you have done against Him. That's mercy.

"Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits - who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion." Psalm 103:2-4