Therefore, I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. 13
I think it right, as long as I am in this body to stir you up by way of reminder, 14
since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 15
And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.
I had a friend in seminary who graduated in 2 ½ years. He took every class offered, every semester and some he didn’t even attend but had them recorded and listened
to them later. He graduated with almost all A’s. I once asked him if he had, what we call a “photographic memory”. He paused and said, “Well…I thought I did, but as it turns out, I don’t.”
The very fact that he had to think about it, was enough for me! The sad truth is that most of us have not been gifted with photographic memories. We are inclined to
forget a lot if not most of what we have read or learned. One puritan put it this way: “Most men’s memories, especially in the great concernments of their souls, are like a sieve…where the good corn and fine flour goes through, but the light chaff and coarse
bran remain behind; or like a strainer, where the sweet liquor is strained out, but the dregs left behind; or like a grate that lets the pure water run away, but if there be any straws, sticks, mud, or filth, that it holds, as it were, with iron hands.” [Thomas
Brooks, Works, I, 288]
Now there can be little doubt what Peter was after in these four verses. He says that he intends
to remind them, to stir them up by way of reminder, so that when he is gone, they will be able at any time
to recollect these things. All three words are versions of the same Greek word. Peter wants them and us to
remember!
These dear people knew of God’s grace and they knew of their responsibility to live worthy of that grace. They knew all of that…and so do we!
But knowing something and remembering something are two very different things. To have the truth as an active presence and power in one’s mind and heart is not the same thing as being able to answer a question regarding that truth if one happens to be
asked in a game of trivial pursuit. It is another thing altogether to remember day by day precisely how you are to live and why!
We often think that the excuse, “I forgot” is benign. Children say this all the time as the reason why they did not do as they were told. As a parent, do you accept
that as a reason for disobedience? “Oh Jimmy, you forgot…well in that case, don’t worry about it!” Hardly. Is it not the case with you, as it is with me, that we forget the things we wish we would always remember and remember the things we wish we
could forget? I just went through my mind and listed the 1969 Minnesota Vikings defense…why is it that I can remember that but not so many things that are of vital importance?
The reality of sin, that deep malevolence of our nature is demonstrated in the matter of memory and forgetfulness as surely as in any other dimension of our mental
or spiritual life. Let me give you an example, a very important and practical example: We know, because the Bible has told us so in great detail of many things we can do, we can recall when temptation strikes so that we extinguish that temptation without giving
into its scheme. So why is it that at the moment of crisis we forget those arguments? John Bunyan has a great battle in his allegory that takes place just beyond “Forgetful Green”, which the author tells us was “the most dangerous place in all these parts.” Isn’t
that what Peter is saying? If we are to be faithful then we must remember!
The word remember is used 234 times in the Bible. Often it is used of God’s remembering! If God remembers and acts, then why would we think remembering to be anything
but important! The phrase do not forget, or they forgot is used 20 times, and the word forgotten 41 times. Psalm 78 as an example:
“The men of Ephraim…did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by his law. They
forgot what he had done, the wonders he had shown them.” [vv. 9-11] And what is the remedy for that? The same author has the answer: “I will utter…things from of old – what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us. We will not hide
them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done…so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then
they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.” [vv. 2-7]
Asaph, who also wrote Psalm 77, says a similar thing in that hymn: “To this I will appeal: the years of the right hand of the Most High.
I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.” [vv. 10-11]
Brothers and sisters, remembering is an act of the will, it is a discipline, it is also reflective by which I mean we do not forget what is important to us. Even young
children will remind you of the ice-cream you promised when you were together at the store, or the movie you said you would let them watch on Friday night. Our forgetfulness is often a reflection of what we value, or better put, what in the moment, we do not
value.
If the words of the Lord are important, if they are loved, if we see them as instrumental to life…we will not forget them as easily and often as we do. The opposite
is true as well and of course brings us a strong rebuke. Namely, if we do forget, if forgetting the words, promises and calling of our Savior is commonplace, then can we really say those things are of value to us?
Peter is not talking about God’s work and blessing in our individual lives, important as it is for us to remember that. He is asking us to remember those things of
which he has just reminded his readers: the fundamental facts of our salvation and the life that God has given those who trust in his Son, Jesus Christ; of the salvation that lies behind us in the work of Christ and that lies ahead of us in the kingdom of
heaven. How can we forget those things? They are, we say, what our lives are built upon.
We have to deal with the reality of this, as much as we dislike it. As one author put it: The fact is there will never be in our daily experience, or, at least
there will rarely be in our daily experience, sufficient vindication of our faith to sustain deep love for God and neighbor, hunger and thirst for righteousness, patience in trial, and growth in real godliness.
What he is saying is that we remember at certain times in our life when we were wonderfully impressed with the love of God or the evil of sin or a desire to be more
godly. We wanted the strength of that feeling and conviction to last forever, to stretch into tomorrow and the next day and the next. However, it did not. And we soon forgot those powerful convictions. We might even mourn how easily they faded from our memory
and how quickly we fell back into thinking and living as we did before that experience. That is simply life as it is. There is a lesson here and Peter is teaching it to us.
The nature of our life in this world, dealing as we do with the onslaught of a godless culture as well as the continue perversion of our own hearts, and let’s include
the weaknesses of the church of which we are a part…the discipline and practice of remembering, of recounting daily the promises and blessings of our Savior is not just a good idea but a necessary part of living faithfully. Much as we may wish that the experiences
of one day and moment, would make a lasting impression on our souls for good that we never needed to revisit, strength or seek again, is simply a grasping at smoke.
These things I remembered as I pour out my soul…
…When I remember You upon my bed and meditate on you in the watches of the night…
I will remember the deeds of the Lord…
Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David as preaching in my gospel!
Prayer: Father, although I forget often, your gifts, kindness and mercies please do not forget me. My confidence is not in my hold on you, but on yours on
me. Help me to live in conscious awareness of Your word and presence. When I forget, show me the way again, when I remember, may I be full in truth and obedience to all that You have said, through Jesus Christ my Lord, Amen.
Hymn: The God of Abraham Praise