We are a forgetful people. We too often overlook the majesty of creation and how it directs our gaze to our sovereign, holy, and gracious Creator. We forget to give God glory for creating us and for sustaining us. We forget to thank Him for all blessings. We forget to pray to Him, and we forget to praise Him. We forget His steadfast and abounding love. We forget what Christ has done for us, in us, and through us. We forget Christ’s law-fulfilling life, and we forget His sacrificial, atoning death. We forget His resurrection, and we forget that we are awaiting resurrection. We forget that Christ is interceding for us at the right hand of the Father. We forget that Christ is coming back to judge the living and the dead. We forget that God is all-knowing and knows the intentions of our hearts. We forget the person and power of the Holy Spirit. We forget that the Holy Spirit dwells within us and that we are the temple of God. We forget that God is at work in us both to will and to work according to His good pleasure. We forget that God is working all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. We forget that we are united to Christ and that our salvation is secure in Christ. We forget that we are seated with Christ in the heavenly places. We forget that God will make all things new in the new heaven and new earth. We forget God’s promises. We forget the law. We forget the gospel. We forget God’s faithfulness. And yet, God never forgets us.
Because God remembers our sin no more in Christ, He will, for the sake of Christ, cause us to remember Him now and forever, for His glory and our eternal good.
Throughout Scripture, our faithful, covenant Lord reminds us, “I will remember” (Gen. 9:15; Lev. 26:42; Ezek. 16:60). He will not forget us and His everlasting promises to us. And though we are prone to wander and forget God, God has promised that He will never allow us to forget Him in the end. In order to help us remember Him, our Lord has provided us with abundant means to remember Him. The Lord has given us His inspired, authoritative, and inerrant Word, and He has given us the ability to know it, to love it, and to hide it in our hearts. Moreover, the Lord has given us Himself in the person and work of Jesus Christ. As God incarnate, Christ is the eternal Word, the “radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Heb. 1:3). And foundational to knowing Christ is the work of the Holy Spirit who has made us know Christ by conquering, quickening, and liberating our hearts.
If God were to let us forget Him finally, there would be no inheritance for His Son. But because God remembers our sin no more in Christ, He will, for the sake of Christ, cause us to remember Him now and forever, for His glory and our eternal good.
Originally published in Tabletalk, our daily Bible study magazine.
More from this teacher
Burk Parsons
Dr. Burk Parsons is senior pastor of Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Fla., chief editorial officer for Ligonier Ministries, editor of Tabletalk magazine, and a Ligonier Ministries teaching fellow.