More Than Reminders Needed

Reminders are useful because we easily forget.  But even the best reminders have their limitations and do not always serve their intended purpose because we are the weak link.  We can be distracted, fall into habits, and be overtaken with behaviours that impede our ability to do our part to follow through.

I was struck recently concerning how many memorials and reminders are in the Bible.  After God delivered His people from a Philistine attack, the prophet Samuel set up a stone he called "Ebenezer" and said in 1 Samuel 7:12, "Thus far the LORD has helped us."  God directed the Hebrews attach a fringe of blue on their garments so they would remember to keep God's commands (Numbers 15:37-39).  When the children of Israel crossed the Jordan river on dry ground 12 stones were stacked in the place where the feet of the priests stood.  To stop the people from murmuring against Moses and Aaron, God made Aaron's stick to bud, blossom and yield almonds overnight.  Then He commanded it be laid up as a token before the Ark of the Testimony to silence their opposition (Numbers 17:10).  God placed the rainbow in the sky as a token of the covenant He made with man and the earth after the great flood, that He would never again flood the earth to destroy all flesh (Genesis 9:12-15).  God would look upon His bow and remember His covenant, and it directed men to remember God.  Even Jesus told His disciples to receive communion together in remembrance of Him.

Making reminders does not ensure people will remember.  This is seen after the children of Ruben, Gad, and half-tribe of Manasseh made a replica of the altar at the tabernacle when they returned to the east side of the Jordan.  Because their land was divided by the Jordan river they were concerned future generations would forget their obligation to offer sacrifices to God at the tabernacle in Shiloh, and the remaining tribes of Israel might question their right to do so.  Joshua 22:28 shares their explanation for building the altar:  "Therefore we said that it will be, when they say this to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say, 'Here is the replica of the altar of the LORD which our fathers made, though not for burnt offerings nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between you and us.'"  It is ironic the people who had the real tabernacle and altar along with the eastern tribes who desired their descendants to follow the LORD and built the large replica were unsuccessful.  Judges 2:10-11 explains, "When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD nor the work which He had done for Israel. ¹¹ Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baals..."  This reveals reminders are useful, yet they provide no guarantee people will heed them.

We can write the time and location of an important meeting in our diary and forget to check it; we can set an alarm to wake up early and continue to dismiss the notifications.  Our forgetfulness can lead to slackness in business and in the LORD's service.  All the reminders in the world are powerless to change our hearts, and reminders are no substitute for the LORD's presence.  That is a glorious truth of those who are born again by faith in Jesus Christ.  He does more than remind us:  His love compels us.  Even those who sewed a fringe of blue on their garments were still condemned by their sin willfully or by ignorance.  We can keep the command of Jesus to gather and remember Him by receiving communion together, but the rite itself has no power to save, guide or help us:  it is Jesus Christ who is our all in all.  The God who gave men brains with memory is able to prompt us Himself, and blessed is the one who responds in faith and obedience.  God is mindful of us and needs no reminders.  No man can follow and serve God without God's help, and praise God for all the reminders we have of His faithfulness.