What is at the forefront of your memory? What do you recall when you think about your life? What about when you think of life generally, and the world around you? But an even better question – what is God asking you to remember?
Over the last few months, God has been constantly reminding me of the word 'remembrance'. Slowly He has been asking me these very questions and in the process showing me what it is that He wants me to remember. And I have discovered that more often than not, what God wants me to remember is quite different from what we are naturally inclined to think of.
This was really brought home to me over the Easter season. While we were celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, the Jewish people were celebrating the Passover at the same time. These events don't always occur at the same time, so I took notice this year; I have always been fascinated by Jewish culture and am wanting to learn whatever I can, so this year I really wanted to do something to commemorate both events. This was made slightly more difficult with isolation being in force and not being able to leave the house, but I think the outcome of this was better overall, as I was able to pause and reflect on the true meaning of both. And the recurring and common theme… remembrance!
A pinnacle of our Christian faith is the practice and partake of communion. Some might do it weekly, monthly, or even daily. I love being able to do this as often as possible because it is the perfect opportunity to remember what Jesus has done for us in dying and becoming an atoning sacrifice. The passages we often read alongside this event are quite clear that Jesus said, "do this in remembrance of Me!"
Reading that Jesus and His disciples were celebrating the Passover, I was inspired to do some research. I love the story of the original Passover. The Israelites have been slaves in Egypt for around 430 years, and God was bringing them into freedom. Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh and pleaded for Israel to be released, but the answer was always "no", which led to a series of horrific and steadily worsening plagues. The final plague was the death of every first-born son in the land. But God provided a way out for His people. Each household was to paint the blood of a lamb over the doorpost of their house, and the angel of God would pass over. And again, God commanded His people to remember this act "throughout your generations" and as "an everlasting ordinance".
