Remember When...

Christmas is approaching quickly.  Now, I'm not big on spending money for gifts at Christmas.  But trust me, I don't mind receiving them.  The older I have gotten (and perhaps wiser), the more I have begun to appreciate Christmas because it provides the opportunity to create new memories and cherish the old memories together with people that matter the most to me.  It's easy to forget, but God gave us the gift of memory.  Remember the movie Ground Hog Day?  Or Fifty First Dates?  Could you even imagine waking up every day to the same thing or not being able to remember anything from the day before?  The ability to remember is a tremendous gift.

Now...remember your favorite Christmas present as a child.  What was it?  Who gave it to you?  What did you do with it?  Most importantly, how long did it take you to open that present?  I never had a chance to open my favorite Christmas gifts.  Usually I snuck around and found them, or I was able to convince my mom to go ahead and give them to me early.  She couldn't help herself.  She loved watching my excitement (that or she was tired of me bugging her)!

The point is this...when we think there is something we'll like or it's a gift important to us, we waste no time opening it.  We can't wait to open it up and see what benefit or fun it will bring us.

Have you ever watched siblings opening presents?  They carefully count, with some type of equation only they can understand, to see who winds up with the best stash from Christmas.  Or, if one kid gets something so incredible, the other is distraught.  They will mope and mope neglecting all the gifts left for them under the tree.  Well it's sad, but I think the Christian life is sometimes like this scenario...

Take a look at Micah 6:1-8.  It's a courtroom scene.  God is indicting Israel for their wrongdoings.  This is a scary place to be.  I'd hate to be put on trial in front of God with all my sin being exposed.  Somehow the people have tried to blame God.  But God asks, "How have I done you wrong?"  Then, he goes on to list four different times when he has bailed the people out of trouble to make good on his promise that they, as the chosen people, would in fact see the Promised Land.  We can be the kid pouting at Christmas because of what everyone else has received, but that's never God's fault.  It becomes easy to whine and complain if we never choose to unwrap the gifts set before us.  I think that's what happened with the nation of Israel.  They forgot to unwrap the gift of memory.  In doing so, when things went wrong, they began to pout, put themselves on a pedestal by blaming God, forgot how God had blessed them, and failed to bless others.

Verses 3-5 make it clear that God is on our side.  The difficulty for us comes in verses 6-7.  God also makes it clear that finding joy in our relationship with him is not about what we can give him, but it is about cherishing the gifts that he has given us.  Without opening up the gift of relationship, we'll never get it.  One of those greatest gifts is the gift of memory.  When we forget the past, we no longer have a debt of gratitude, no sense of obligation, and no feeling of intimacy because the bond with Christ is broken.  Memories serve to strengthen the bond between friends.  The same is true for us as Christians.  Scripture makes it clear that we are called to remember.  Finally, Micah makes it clear what we are to do.  We are to love justice, love mercy, and to walk humbly with God.  How do we come to a place where we love justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God?  We remember how His justification, His mercy, and His walk with us forever changed our lives.  Remembrance is kind of like a prerequisite to a life of worship and prayer.  I love how The Message puts verse 5.  It says, "Keep all God's salvation stories fresh and present."  I'm guessing if we made that a priority things like worship and prayer would look drastically different in the lives of our churches and families.

Remembrance is an exercise of the mind that changes the heart.  I feel drawn in when I think about all God has done for me.  I have goose bumps right now as I'm writing this as I remember when...