Today was such a good day. In fact, this weekend as a whole was such a good weekend. Time filled with friends and family, love and laughter. Also, 3 days in a row off of work doesn’t hurt.
My sisters came to visit. I LOVE this when they come to hang out with me. They really are the coolest girls I know. We had so much fun together, drank lots of coffee, ate lots of food prepared by my husband who is a phenomenally good cook. I am so thankful for the way that he is willing to give me times like this with the girls. I know that he doesn’t understand most of the things we laugh about (such as Weekend at Bernie’s…. seriously funny movie) but he lets us have fun and never complains that we aren’t doing what he would like to.
Memorial Day is about remembering right? So perhaps it’s intended to help us remember those who serve in the military (and for those people I am very thankful, I love many of them dearly) but I’d like to take the time to look at some of the things God tells us to remember. Throughout his word God urges us, and at times commands us to remember. Remember what he’s done for us, remember who he is, remember who we are before the renewing of our souls in Christ, and remember whose we are.
I love that God tells us to remember, because He also remembers us. He is so incredibly faithful to us even when we are anything but faithful to Him. He is always constant, he never takes a day off or forgets the promises He’s made to his kids. In Exodus 6:5 is one of the many examples in which he reassures us “I have heard the groaning of the people of … and I have remembered my covenant.”
“Remember who you are”. This phrase most readily brings to mind the scene in the Lion King when Simba’s father is reminding him who he is and the responsibility that comes with his identity as a son of the king. As silly as it sounds to compare God’s word to a Disney movie, our Father often urges us to remember not only who we are as a child of the King but also where we were before adoption into his family. Ephesians 2:12-13 tells us “Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off, have been brought near by the blood of Christ." Remembering this should fill my heart with such joy and thankfulness that it cannot help but overflow into my life. We have such a blessing and also a responsibility to show an accurate picture of our Father to those around us that don’t know Him. I so often don’t remember how much I owe to God and how much he has given me far beyond what I deserved. I have gone from having no hope without God, to being a co-heir through the blood of Christ. How incredibly amazing and undeserved that is. Because of this my identity is no longer just about me, it’s about who I am as a daughter of the King.
There are often times that I live in light of the love and grace He has given me. This may last a few days or months where I am living in close relationship with my Creator and Savior. I can’t describe the wondrous joy of these times. And then for some reason, I self-destruct. Life gets too busy, I get too selfish, and there just doesn’t seem to be time to put that kind of effort into the relationship. How incredibly blessed I am that God doesn’t drop me as quickly as I can drop my commitments to Him. During those times is when He once again commands us to REMEMBER. “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. (Revelation 2:5).
There are so many other ways that God calls us to remember, and many reminders He gives us of his love every day. I encourage you to look for some of them yourself. You will find them all over the place just look for them.
