It is said that a goldfish has only a three second memory.
Whether is it is true or not I suppose only a goldfish would know…at least for
a little while. Yet, what we do know is that we remember. We remember the good,
the bad, the ugly, and sometimes even remember what we so desperately wished to
forget. It is an odd thing, memory. At times it is a great comfort and other
times it destroys our world. A sound, a sight, or smell can trigger an
overwhelming sense of return. It is a return to the past in the midst of the
present, and a return to a place that formed us. A return to the experiences,
emotions, desires, pain, and wounds that shaped our identity. Sometimes it embraces us like a friend
and pulls us in, comforts us in our pain and gives us hope for the future. Yet,
there are times it becomes our accuser, the prosecuting attorney from which
there is no escape. So, perhaps for some of us a goldfish is not that bad
off…perhaps ignorance is bliss or as Frederick Nietzsche wrote, “Blessed are
the forgetful, for they get the better even of their blunders.”
However, without memory we are lost. We have no story to
tell and no context for meaning in our lives. If we reject our memories whether
good or bad, whether positive or negative, painful or healing, we reject
ourselves. Our memory will often force us to face what we really are, and if we
suppress or reject that reality we will live lives lost in chaos, and
dysfunction. The more we suppress and reject the more those memories hold sway
over us and shape our future. The problem for many of us is that the memories
we wish to suppress are the very ones we were meant to face. And instead of
bringing them into the light, they remain in darkness, granted power by our own
attempts to forget. Now, the very memories and experiences we hoped so
desperately to escape, to hide, and to reject begin to be our most powerful
accusers who control our every movement. We become harried, stressed,
controlling, and fearful. We seek for escape where there is none and in the end
are stuck repeating the same errors again and again. And so perhaps like the
goldfish it would simply be easier if we could just forget…
Yet, the Scriptures constantly remind us to remember. It is
as if in the act of remembrance we find our story intertwined with the divine
narrative. The God of the Scriptures is a God revealed in history – a God who
is known by a covenant name. Our narrative is transcended by a divine
narration. In fact, it is through the Scriptures, through the revelation of a
personal God, that we discover our selves and it is in the telling or
remembering of that narrative within which we are made whole. It is as if God
declares, remember who I am that you might remember who you are. It is in the
Scriptures that we discover what to remember and what to forget. It is in the
forgiveness, grace, redemption and reconciliation of God that the memory of our
failure is transcended. We do not need a three second memory, what we
desperately need is a memory redeemed. It is in the grace of the cross and the
righteousness of Christ that transforms what we desire to forget into something
to be remembered. We remember it as a part of our testimony. We are forgiven
and are sins are no more. We remember our sin and brokenness that in
forgiveness we might remember the goodness and glory of our Father and Savior. And
so we are commanded to remember…to remember the greatness of our God and King
who acted in history to rescue us from sin, darkness, and death. We are
commanded to remember his love, mercy, kindness, forgiveness, and grace. We are
commanded to remember his righteousness, his justice, and his holiness. We are
called to remember him and forget ourselves. We are called to forget our sin,
our idols, and our pride. Called to forget our despair, pain, and hopelessness.
We are called to remember him. We are called to delight in him who calls us his
own.
In the end we do not need short memories, but long ones. We
need memories that recall in the darkest moments a King whose promise is to
restore and redeem all that is broken. We need testimonies that recall the acts
and salvation of our God. We need men and women who will remember when we
cannot…We need to remember.
26 The
afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;
those
who seek him shall praise the Lord!
May
your hearts live forever!
27 All
the ends of the earth shall remember
and
turn to the Lord,
and
all the families of the nations
shall
worship before you.
28 For
kingship belongs to the Lord,
and
he rules over the nations. [1]
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