From God comes…
From God comes continual reminders.
My life is an endless cycle of walking into rooms and forgetting what I went in there to get. Although some of this can be attributed to aging, humans in general have a memory problem. That’s why we continually need to be reminded of certain things.
God was well aware of this, so the Bible is full of exhortations to remember who God is, what Christ did for us, why we are here, where we are headed, and how we will get there. Philippians 1:6 reminds us that we are work in progress. God began that work in us and will faithfully complete it. To help complete this work, God sends us continual reminders of His greatness and who we are in Christ.
Sometimes a ritual can help us remember things. Baptism reminds us that Christ died for our sins and we should die to self as we are resurrected into a new life in Christ. Partaking of the bread and wine in a Communion service reminds us to stay connected to God. It helps us remember who Christ is and who we are in Christ.
Other Christian habits such as going to church, reading the Bible, meditating on God’s words, or praying reinforce this as well. Just like Communion reminds us to stay connected to God, going to church reminds us to stay connected to others. Reading the Bible reminds us of who God is and His plan for our lives. Meditating on God’s Word reminds us to apply it in how we live. Prayer reminds us that God is in charge.
C.S. Lewis put it this way in his book Vice and Virtue, A Dictionary of the Good Life: “…once you have accepted Christianity, then some of its main doctrines shall be deliberately held before your mind for some time every day. That is why daily prayers and religious reading and churchgoing are necessary parts of the Christian life. We have to be continually reminded of what we believe. Neither this belief nor any other will automatically remain alive in the mind. It must be fed.”
If we are spiritually receptive, we can sense God’s reminders every day. The sun, moon, and stars can remind us of God’s vast power as Creator and Sustainer. The spring season can remind us of God’s message of rebirth, renewal, and hope. A hymn can remind us of God’s faithfulness. The sound of an ambulance can remind us we live in a hurting world that only God can heal. A child’s laughter can remind us to become like little children so we can enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The list is endless.
God knows we can be forgetful, so He arranged that everything we experience can be a continual reminder of who He is and who we are in Christ. They are there if we know how to look for them.
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“Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God…”
~James 1:17 (NLT)
