God has blessed me with the passion for reading. These past couple of weeks I rediscovered this passion. I know it has always been there, but when I pick up a book for pleasure and can read it for hours I remember how much I like reading. It’s amazing how you forget that you like something! How does that happen? Will one day I just happen to forget that I really like Thai food and hiking in the woods? Well, when I don’t spend time doing these things on a somewhat regular basis there is always the possibility that I forget how much I enjoy them. If I forget something as basic as reading, then what happens when I forget about greater things? One of the books I finished reading was “Desire” by John Eldredge. He applies this thought to our relationship with God.
“You see, I wake up most mornings an unbeliever. It seems during the night I slip into forgetfulness, and by the time the new day comes I am lost. The deep and precious truths that God has brought me over the years, and even just yesterday, seem a thousand miles away. It doesn’t happen every morning, but enough to make it a reality.”
How often do we have to relearn truths that God has revealed to us? It’s because we don’t have those reminders in place. In Jesus’ time the people of Israel would literally keep Scripture in boxes on their forehead so they wouldn’t forget God’s Word. While I am not saying we all need to wear boxes on our head or get tattoos or wear as much jewelry or clothing with Christian messages, we need to find ways to daily remind ourselves the truths God has given us. If we don’t we might become like a rose that bloomed faithfully every year until one year it suddenly died. Why? A worm got inside the roots of the flower and killed it, but one couldn’t see that from the outside. Eldredge also states, “Such is the work of forgetfulness. It cuts us off from our life so slowly we barely notice until one day the blooms of our faith are suddenly gone.”
So…what reminders do you have in place in your life?