As I lay in bed last night the thoughts of this post were on my mind.....and as I sit here ready to type....I'm having trouble remembering how I wanted to approach this. You will see the significance of this as you read on.
"Journal entry....March 29....2021....70th birthday.....thanksgiving and praise to God for His mercy all of these years".....a year passes...."Journal entry....March 29....2022.....Started taking brain enhancing memory pills."
"Journal entry....March 29....2023.....Keep forgetting to take these pills....."
"Journal entry....March 29....2024.....Can't remember what these pills are for...."
They say that memory of the past often stays sharp but memory of what happened the day before can be difficult. Oh I remember my past. I don't ever want to forget it....for in remembering it....I am reminded of God's mercy on the least of the least....but I also do not want it to be debilitating. So I praise God for His wonderful design in letting us remember what we were saved from....and thus keeping us overwhelmed by the grace that He bestowed upon us....but not letting us collapse in despair....as if we were not now His children....on this dangerous pilgrimage....but with His Word to be a light to our path and strengthen us along the way!
The thought of serious memory loss is concerning.....but of more concern is the thought of forgetting just who it was that God lifted up....(me....us)....and gave a new heart....opening our eyes and the ears to His Word and of His glories!
There is though the other side of the issue....short term memory loss. I would think that every Christian....as they lay down to sleep at night....would think over the events of the day....and the failures to live in obedience in proportion to what they know of the glories and faithfulness of Jesus Christ. I need to expound on that a little bit. It is one thing to realize little of what has been done for us....and then live accordingly....with little fear and reverence and thankfulness to God....but for others....like myself.....to know very well....and increasingly so as the days and years pass.....the mercies and power and majesty of such a glorious and wonderful God and Savior.....and then not live as if I knew these things
This is why the word Puritanical....a strong pejorative....has become a byword. They knew who they really were....without the mercies of God upon them....and they knew who God really was....the only possible reaction in such a case is to be serious in their faith....extreme in their devotion....and zealous in their vigilance. The same principle exists with us today. The evangelical does not have Puritan divines to bring down the glory of God.....nor is there any mortification applied that we might see the chasm that exists between fallen man and God. We therefore look around....and think that this is all there is.
