Thursday, April 14, 2016
Today’s blog is about forgetfulness. Do any of you have that problem? Well, if you don’t have a bad memory now you may as you get older. I heard Pastor Mike say recently that the more we know, the more we forget. I once had an excellent memory but now I sometimes forget stuff from one minute to another. It must be old age, right? Not only that, but now sometimes I forget stuff from one minute to another. I’m like the two elderly ladies that got together for tea three times a week for many, many years. One day, one of them told the other "You know, we’ve been friends for many years and, please don't get mad, but for the life of me, I can't remember your name. Please tell me what it is." Her friend glared at her. She continued to glare and stare at her for at least three minutes. Finally, she said, "How soon do you need to know?" Another elderly gentleman who wanted to stay busy went to the neighborhood grocery store to look for a job. When the manager asked him, “What is your name?” the old fellow paused for a long time then said, “Wait a minute it will come to me.” Then he started singing “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear …..” Then he turned to the manager and said “My name is Harold.”
Though bad memory jokes can be funny, forgetfulness can be a serious matter with sometimes lethal consequences. David wrote: “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” (Psalm 9:17) If you are like me, sometimes you worry that our nation in general has reached that point where God has to punish us as well. Forgetting God and his mercy is a very dangerous thing. I am reminded of Christ’s parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18 who forgot the mercy he received from his master by having his enormous debt forgiven and soon after refused to forgive a small debt owed to him by a fellow servant. When his master heard how he had treated a fellow servant he handed this wicked servant over to the jailers. Bottom line: He paid a heavy price for having forgotten the mercy he had received.
On the other hand, it is very comforting to know that God never forgets His children. He never forgets to be loving, kind, and merciful to us. One of my favorite places of scripture is Psalm 103:13-14 which reads: “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him; for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.” Since He never forgets who and what we are, we are blessed beyond measure.
Memory verse for the week: (Jeremiah 3:15) “Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.”
