Rev. Richard P. Smith
Deuteronomy 4:9 – Moses To The Hebrew People
Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.
Here in the 4th chapter of Deuteronomy, Moses tells the Hebrew people to remember all the things God has done for them and to pass these remembrances on.
Well, on this Thursday before Memorial Day, I want us to look at some things we need to remember; some things we must not forget.
Remember Those Who’ve Gone On To Be With God Who Made A Difference In Us
Each of us knows what it means to lose a dear loved one; to lose someone with whom we were very close and who really enriched our lives. A parent; a grandparent; a child; a sibling; a dear friend; a beloved mentor, etc.
There are those persons who’ve gone on to be with God in your life, as in mine, without whom you wouldn’t be who you are. Remember and give thanks.
Now, another thing to remember and celebrate is that we will see these loved ones again. Some day we will be reunited beyond this life; thanks be to God. As Henry Scott Holland puts it…
There is absolute unbroken continuity…
I am but waiting for you. For an interval.
Somewhere. Very near.
Just around the corner.
All is well.
One brief moment and all will be as it was before
only better, infinitely happier and forever we will all be one together with Christ.
We Remember The Goodness Of God All Along Life’s Journey
God has not promised any of us immunity from the great hardships of life. What we can hang onto is the awareness that God’s goodness in our lives has been constant. As Moses told the Hebrew people, so he would tell us: Do not forget the things your eyes have seen…that is, the good God has done for us.
With this reminder we can handle life’s challenges not wondering if God will be there to see us through.
One Christian thinker speaks to this brilliantly when he writes:
God doesn’t promise us, as we each know, that every day will be blessed and joyous. Life just doesn’t work that way. In fact, there are days when we wonder if we have the strength and will to keep on keeping on. What’s most needed in these more troublesome times is focusing on what we know to be true of God and what we’ve seen God do in the past. He has never abandoned us and He won’t abandon us now. He has never failed to bring some good in the midst of our challenges and He will not fail us now. He has never left us to our own resources and He will not do that now.
May we remember and give thanks!
We Should Remember The Sacrifices Made For Our Freedom
My father fought in World War II; he was in the Marine Corps. I didn’t in my growing up years really know about my father’s war years…or the burden it placed on my mother.
As I’ve shared before, it was Tom Brokaw’s book The Greatest Generation which helped me understand the sacrifices so many made during that great conflict. Brokaw writes about those who fought in WWII:
They answered the call to help save the world from the two most powerful and ruthless military machines ever assembled, instruments of conquest in the hands of fascist maniacs. They faced great odds. At a time in their lives when their days and nights should have been filled with innocent adventure, love, and the lessons of the workaday world, they were fighting; often hand to hand; in the most primitive conditions possible, across the bloodied landscape of France, Belgium, Italy, Germany. They fought their way up a necklace of South Pacific islands few had ever heard of before…Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal, Okinawa. They were in the air every day, in skies filled with terror, and they went to sea on hostile waters far removed from the shores of their homeland,,,”
Brokaw’s point is that we must come to realize how thankful we ought to be for the sacrifices made for us and others; not just in that global conflict but in many conflicts through the years. We live in a free nation because some men and women were willing to make significant sacrifices on our behalf; and continue to do so today as well.
This coming Memorial Day may we reflect about the sacrifices made and upon the courage so many showed. And in so doing, may we give profound thanks that ours is a better and freer world because of the price so many paid!
