What We Remember

Scripture: Numbers 6.22-27; John 17.6-19


There’s a scene in the Johnny Cash biopic, Walk the Line, in which June Carter is shopping at a Five and Ten type store. She is the middle of a painful divorce; she’s on tour with Johnny Cash, and she’s trying to figure out her life. A woman she’s never seen before approaches her in the store.

“You’re June Carter.”

“Why, yes, maam,” Carter politely responds. It’s nice to be recognized by fans.

The woman continues. “Your parents are such fine and upstanding people.”
June is a member of the legendary Carter family, called the “First Family of Country Music.” She grew up singing gospel with her mother and sisters and cousins.

“Why thank you, “ Carter replies, “I’ll tell’em you said so.”

But the woman is not done. Her smile twists slightly and her eyes narrow.

“You must be a big disappointment to them,” the woman tells Carter.

“Maam?”

“You getting a divorce,” the woman delivers.

It was like a slap in the face to June Carter. You don’t forget things like that.

Doesn’t it seem like it’s much easier to remember the bad stuff, the slap in the face, than it is the good and precious memories.

It’s been said that if we receive nine words of praise and one word of criticism we will remember and dwell on the criticism. I think it’s a result of the Fall and our human nature that the negative seems more believable to us than the positive. We call negative news “real.” It’s supposedly an accurate description of reality. Plane crashes are news. “Everything went well today” is not a headline you will ever see in the paper. We call a positive outlook “naive” or “polyannish.”

A big part of our conversion is learning to see goodness and beauty in life once again. It’s part of what it means to “become a like a child” as Jesus said.

St. Paul, who was never considered a sentimental optimist, wrote this to the church, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Philippians 4.8



For most of us, we are probably not there yet. Our times of meditating on the good are, perhaps, sporadic at best. A helpful tool in pursuit of that “Philippians standard” is what I will call Selective Memory. None of us remember everything. For one reason or another we select certain things to retain and others to discard. I can remember the names of most of my teammates in Little League when I was twelve, but I forget the names of people I used to know fairly well only five years ago.
What is needed for this transformation of mind is a selective memory that selects more good than harm, and specifically selects an interpretation of the past based on a view from the Cross of Christ and a trust in the Savior who died for us there.

A parallel to this is Memorial Day. It is a national holiday in which we remember past wars in which men and women served in active duty for their country. Whole forests have been felled to fuel the debate over the necessity or justness of most of these wars. But Memorial Day is a selective remembering in the sense that we, no matter the cause or outcome of the war, say the service of these men and women was an unqualified good. We praise the qualities of honor, commitment, and sacrifice.

The history of Israel really is a right remembering, or a faithful remembering of God’s dealing with them. They remembered their past honestly, not glossing over their sins and unfaithfulness, and yet they did even this with the perspective of faith. As in Joseph to his brothers, “You meant it for evil but God meant it for good.” The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has redeemed our sins as part of his purposes and plans.

Certainly, for all of us, God has things to teach us about what and how to remember our past. We are counseled to see ourselves “soberly and rightly,” (Paul’s words) but we are also counseled not to dwell on the sins and errors of our past.

“Like a dog returns to its own vomit, is a fool who reverts to his folly.” Proverbs 26.11

Instead we are urged to turn away from past sins and open our eyes to God’s presence and activity here and now.

“Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” Isaiah 43.18-19

What is this new thing that God wants us to see? From the perspective of the Cross and the new life Christ has purchased for us, God wants us to see that we belong to Him and we are loved by Him.

Listen to the words of Jesus in what is called is his High Priestly Prayer. Some have called it the true “Lord’s Prayer.”


“Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name - the name you gave me - so that they may be one as we are one. . .My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.” John 17.11, 15-16

God wants us to know that once, through Christ, we become his children, nothing can change that or separate us from him. That, in fact, we are always on his mind. “Though a nursing mother may forget her sucking child, I will not forget you. Your name is engraved on the palm of my hand.”

We had another get ready for school episode the other day. Someone’s belly hurt again just when it was time to get dressed and go out for the bus. I tried to get the boy dressed very quickly as he dragged his feet. My frustration level rose, as well as, I think, my internal core temperature, almost to the point of exploding when I heard the squeal of the schoolbus’ wheels outside and we weren’t ready to go. The last time we missed the bus I threatened there would be consequences the next time it happened.

There were consequences. One was that I had to drive him to school again. The other was that we were not talking to each other anymore. We drove over to school in silence. I pulled up in front of the school. He got out and started walking up the sidewalk. I watched him go as I started to pull away from the curb. Just then Michael stopped and turned and looked at me and gave a smallest of waves but with a look on his face that was both apologetic and hopeful. The look said, “You still love me don’t you?”

And I waved back with, what I imagine was, that same look on my face. I don’t want my son to only remember my yelling and my anger and my disapproval. I want him to remember my encouragement and my patience and my love. I want him to remember that I turned my face back toward him and I shined upon him again.

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

The Lord turns his face toward us. He looks upon us and knows us. He makes his face shine upon us and we know his pleasure. This is the blessing of God to us. And nobody and nothing, not even the power of Hell can take that away from us.

Children of God, that’s worth remembering! Let your heart and mind dwell on these things.