He Remembered

I heard the story recently about a guy named John who had a serious memory problem. One day he ran into a friend he had not seen in a long time. He greeted him and said, “Bill, do you remember what a bad memory I had?” Bill answered, “Yes, I certainly do.” “Well, it’s not bad any more. I went to a seminar that taught us how to remember things. It was great, and now I have a wonderful memory.” Bill answered, “That’s great! What was the name of the seminar?” “Well,” John said, “wait a minute, my wife went with me. I’ll ask her.” He turned and saw his wife nearby. Then he turned back to Bill and said, “What’s the name of that flower with a long stem, thorns and a red bloom?” “Do you mean a rose?” Bill answered. “Yeah, thanks,” John said. “Hey, Rose, what’s the name of that seminar we attended?” All of us have problems remembering on occasions.  We forget people’s names, phone numbers, and special events just to name a few. However there are some things we cannot forget. Memorial Day is one of those. This is a time when we should focus upon the men and women who died fighting to maintain our nation’s freedom.  But it’s also a day when we should reflect upon those who lost their lives fighting for our faith. They refused to abandon their convictions. Hebrews chapter eleven mentions multitudes that fall into this category. They would not surrender to denial and because of that they were tortured, crucified, beheaded, and beaten to death. However, the ultimate person to remember is the one who fought for our future. When we were full of sin and without hope, Jesus died that we might become the righteousness of God. That’s one of the most important reasons we participate in Holy Communion.  Jesus said “take the bread and drink the cup and as often as you do, you are doing it in remembrance of me.”  But as hard as it is to admit, sometimes we forget. It’s not that we block him out of our memory altogether, we just don’t keep him as a priority in our lives.  This causes me to ask, “Can we forget the one who did not forget us?” A serious reading of the scripture reveals that Jesus as the supreme sacrifice remembered us in everything.  He knew we needed forgiveness--He remembered.  He knew we needed peace—He remembered. He knew we needed comfort—He remembered. He knew we were human—He remembered. He knew we needed healing—He remembered. He knew we needed hope—He remembered. He knew we needed encouragement—He remembered. He knew we needed provision—He remembered. He knew we needed deliverance—He remembered. He knew we needed power—He remembered. He knew we needed a home—He remembered. Yes, He remembered us in all things. That being said let us be sure to take the time, especially during this Memorial week to remember Him.