A glance around my living room reveals many mementoes. All right, knick-knacks. But each one has meaning—family heirlooms, travel souvenirs, and gifts from friends. We display them to remind us of where we come from, where we’ve been, and the people we love. Our memories are flimsy, fickle things, remembering useless trivia and painful occurrences—but able to let the good slip into oblivion. We know that. We fear that. So to trigger our memories, we display objects or build monuments, like Scotland's monument to William Wallace in the photo.
God knows the weakness of our memories too. When He led Joshua and the nation of Israel across the Jordan River and into the Promised Land, He knew time would pass, generations would pass, and the people would forget. They would think Joshua alone led them. They would think the people found their way all by themselves. They would think that they had always lived in Israel and had never been delivered from Egypt.
So He commanded them to build a memorial—twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan River, built into a memorial at Gilgal to remind them of what the Lord had done.
Isn’t that the best kind of memorial—to remind us of what the Lord has done in our lives? I’d rather forget a trip to Europe, my best friend, and even my own grandparents than forget the wonderful works of God.
“In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them…” (Joshua 4: 6, italics mine).
Do you have anything in your home to remind you what God has done?
This is interesting, because my Mom passed away a few weeks ago and I've been thinking along these lines. As far as things in my home, there are many reminders of what God has done. The most prominent is my husband, who is my greatest earthly treasure. My three children, daughter in law, and grandson run a close second. It humbles me to think that He loves me enough to give me these gifts, and to work in our lives.
ReplyDeleteHave a good weekend,
Karen
That's a great thought - that the people in our lives are a monument to what God's done. I also have absolutely no doubt that my husband is God's greatest gift to me - after salvation, that is :)
ReplyDeleteOh, this post reminds me of one of my favorite hymns, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. It has a line in it that not everyone "gets" these days. "Here I raise my Ebenezer." I used that verse when I started my blog a couple years ago, which began as a memorial to my healing from cancer and a renewed ability to write, something I lost for a few years due to chemo fog.
ReplyDeleteI also have a bookcase devoted mostly to photos taken in Israel, and several menorah, to remind me of my trip there to visit friends, back in 2003.
Congratulations on your first book sale, Sarah! I look forward to reading it.
(had some trouble posting... not the first time Blogger has been testy today for me. Trying again....)
Lori - it eventually worked...
ReplyDeleteI love that line in that hymn too. We need to raise those stones of help. I'm so thrilled God worked His healing in you - and obviously for a good purpose.