“Lest we forget…”
I woke up this morning with that phrase running through my mind. “Lest we forget…” It’s not uncommon to hear that spoken at a commemoration service honoring men and women who have served our country. And we never should forget.
In I Corinthians 10 a phrase very similar to that is used not once, but twice. In 10:6 it says, “These things happened as a warning to us…” In verse 11 it says, “These things happened as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.”
The gist? Lest we forget.
As a follower of Jesus, I must not forget the lessons learned or to be learned. I need to recall the lessons others learned and shared lest I fall into the same pit they fell into or possibly avoided. Nor should I forget the lessons I have learned from past experiences.
I say all this because of an incident people just won’t let go of. All the “rage” this week has been the Travis Kelce dust-up with his coach, Andy Reid. I didn’t watch the Super Bowl. I could care less if Travis was telling his coach about his latest escapade with his overly-hyped girlfriend. I don’t care if he was telling Coach Reid that he had heartburn from his pregame meal. I. SIMPLY. DON’T. CARE. But since I wasn’t born yesterday nor is my head buried under a rock, I cannot escape hearing or reading about the pundits, especially other overly paid football players. I read an article where several of them said, “If that had been me I would have been…” Then one of them pulled out the race card (Isn’t that getting kind of old?). It is my understanding these players quickly forgot the grace shown to them by the NFL just a few years ago. One was convicted of choking his girlfriend in college and yet…wait for it…he is given a second chance and drafted because he can catch an odd-shaped ball. Did he forget? Obviously.
My point is this: “Lest we forget.” As a Christ-follower we must never forget what we deserved versus what we received. The Israelites were given the examples in I Corinthians 10 (I encourage you to read the first 12 verses for reference and context) so they would not forget. They must not forget the damage and tragedy of sin and disobedience. But they also must not forget the goodness of God.
Good words for me to remember lest I forget.
Excellent, Bill!!!!!
Thank you Diane.
We have memories for a reason, Bill. May we never forget all the lessons that God continues to teach us through His Word.
Blessings!
Exactly my point martha. Thanks for getting “it.”
From the moment we are conceived, I suspect our cells begin learning, adapting, adjusting, growing. When we are born, the environment and the social interactions begin to work on us as well. As we grow and as we learn, we begin to recognize those things that hurt, that heal, that we like, that we don’t. God gives us a brain for a reason. The capacity to learn, to reason, to choose. God also gives us the grace… Thankfully!
The lessons we learn we should apply. Sometimes we do, sometimes we don’t.
Good reminder this morning to stop for a moment and reflect.
Am I making decisions today that I have made before expecting a different outcome from what I have experienced in the past… Einstein is often given the credit for using this as the definition for insanity.
Good thought Ryan. I never thought about using the “credited” quote from Einstein. We sure do a lot of insane things these days.
We need to be grateful and reminded daily of the grace given to us through Our Lord and Savior. It is easy to say we will never forget. Unless we stop and reflect on that grace daily, we will be exactly like the Israelites, taking for granted God’s love for us and His provisions. It’s easy to point out everyone else’s shortcomings but to miss that your own actions reflect the exact same sins. To walk in God’s will, takes a daily commitment, daily reflection, and daily aligning your heart with God.
I think you have stated an important principle Gail. Daily reminding ourselves of God’s grace and goodness. If we don’t do that or get out of the habit of doing so, it will be easy forget.