Remember

Today millions will remember and reflect on the events of 9/11. The day that sent tremors throughout the world. A moment that is etched in the American memory. Events that struck the core of western identity and shattered the idea of safety. 2977 were dead. Today we remember. Today we grieve. Today there must be hope. Remembering should lead us to Jesus.

Blue light filled our young children's faces as they watched the screen. For the first time in their lives they saw the footage. "Dad, was that a plane?" "Yes son. No one was prepared for that." A few minutes later, "Can they jump?" Through a vail of tears the response finally came, "They can... they will... but... they'll die." Then the collapse. The children sat stunned as their ears were filled with a woman crying out, "All those people! Oh God! All those people!"

God created us to remember. Time and again the Lord tells us to remember. Remember the patriarchs. Remember the covenants. Remember the promise. Remember the Exodus. Remember the faithful. Remember who you once were. Do this in remembrance of me. It is good to remember. Biblical rememberance is designed to draw our minds and hearts back to God. The pattern of remembering in the Bible points back to the Lord.

By 586BC an enemy had prevailed over Judah. People were dead. Buildings were reduced to rubble. In midst of Jeremiah's anguish, calamity, and despair the Lord had him write these words:

Remember my affliction and my misery,

the wormwood and the gall.

Surely my soul remembers

and is humbled within me.

But this I call to mind,

and therefore I have hope:

It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed;

His compassions do not fail.

They are new every morning;

great is Your faithfulness.

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,

“therefore I will hope in Him.”

Lamentations 3:19-24 (MEV)

It is good to remember. It is good for our souls to be afflicted. It is good to remember that life is but a breath.

Remember, tomorrow is not guaranteed. Today is a blessing. Remember, you are only human. Remember, your life is fragile. Remember the safety God has given you today. Remember, He fed you yesterday. Remember how faithful He has been every day.

In the midst of calamity, death, war, and affliction we ought to remember. Remember who we are. Remember who God is. Remember the only hope we have, Jesus Christ. Remember the hope of redemption in Jesus. Biblical rememberance leads us to cry out, "Come Lord Jesus, come quickly."