Joshua 4:3-7 “Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests’ feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight…. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.”
Years ago when we dedicated our church building, we had a grand celebration. Our little band of believers had turned a warehouse in the middle of farmland into a sanctuary to house the presence of God. We had labored for months building a stage, constructing an upstairs for a kitchen and fellowship hall. We painted, carpeted, installed windows and classrooms.
On the night of the dedication, twelve men from our church each carried a large stone. They placed them on the altar at the foot of the cross. A reminder of the miraculous work God had done in providing our place of worship.
Scripture provides precedent for the importance of remembering God’s works.
When the nation of Israel crossed the Jordan River, the Lord wanted to make sure his people didn’t forget the supernatural parting of the waters. Parted waters that enabled them to cross into the land of promise. He commanded Joshua to take twelve stones from the riverbed and build a memorial so the people would remember the miracle.
Sadly, we humans are prone to forgetfulness. Take the current rise of antisemitism. John Stonestreet writes, “One reason this demon has returned is that history has moved on. The memory of the Holocaust is fading, and the world is less familiar with names like Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Nearly everyone that was involved—victim, villain, or liberator—is now dead. Without the power of eyewitness testimony, the lessons of Never Again! are lost.”
And how long will it be before the cries of Never Forget surrounding 9/11 in our country fall silent in the dustbin of history?
To combat our tendency toward forgetfulness, maybe we need to be creating some personal memorials in our lives that remind us of what God has done. Every time we tell someone about how God answered specific prayers or provided beyond our means, it cements the memories. Recalling the past causes faith for the future to flourish.
All because we remember.