Remembrance

And the king commanded all the people, “Keep the Passover to the LORD your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” 2 Kings 23:21

When I put my life back together, after the disaster of my drug addiction, there were those individuals who helped me to do so. I see some of those people very rarely now, so when I do see them, I’m reminded of what they did for me, and I remember to thank them. There are others though, who’ve done just as much for me, who’ve remained in my life. I’ve found that normal, everyday interactions with them have meant that I no longer have this acute, instinctive feeling of gratitude whenever I see them. I should occasionally remind myself of what they did for me back then, and I should thank them, but I just don’t think of it anymore because our interactions have become so routine.

I’ve got to wonder if something similar happened to the Israelites. When they were first freed from Egypt and settled in the Promised Land, the Israelites observed the Passover, a yearly celebration, commanded by God, to remind his people what he’d done for them. Eventually though, they just stopped celebrating the Passover and they stopped remembering what God had done. For hundreds of years, they forgot. In King Josiah’s reign however, Josiah reminded the people and they reinstituted the Passover, remembering what God had done for them.

When I remember what God has done for me – that he saved me from myself and gave me new life – I’m reminded that my only appropriate response is to follow him. Over the years though, with God a part of my life every day, I’ve gradually forgotten the disaster of 12 years ago. I forget to celebrate what God has done and I forget to be thankful. Then, I forget that my daily job is to follow him, and I gradually return to following me. Regularly then, I must remind myself of what God has done. Regularly, I must thank him and remind myself that my one job daily, is still to abandon my way for his.