We live 37 miles from Sundance, and I have made a habit of going there every week or two to visit several folks in the nursing home. Additionally, Sundance is the county seat, so I often have a bill to pay at the courthouse when I make the trip. As I get ready to go to Sundance, it is common for me to forget little things. My family laughs at me when I go because it is common for me to say “goodbye” and leave, only to come back into the house once, twice, or thrice, because I forgot my sunglasses, water bottle, cell phone, check book, or car keys. But, had I forgotten any of these, it would have merely been a matter of inconvenience. For instance, if I forgot my check book, I would have to make another trip back, maybe earlier than planned. One time, truth be told, I forgot my Bible. Fortunately. I had remembered my cell phone that time and I was able to read the word of God on it. I have never driven off and forgotten the car keys … yet!
But as I get ready to travel overseas in a couple of months, my mind is already starting to think about NOT forgetting more important things that would make international travel impossible. I am thinking about my plane ticket, passport, visa, and yellow fever card. I know that I will have pictures of all of these on my cell phone and on paper, but I am already wondering where I will keep these items and their copies so that I will not lose them and so that they will not be stolen. Speaking of things being stolen, the money I will need for travel also comes to mind. If I forgot or lost any of these things, it would not be a matter of inconvenience, but a matter of urgency. Thus, as the need becomes more urgent, it is no longer a matter of trivially forgetting, but of purposefully remembering.
And this leads us to something more urgent than a trip to Sundance or a trip overseas to the Democratic Republic of Congo. There is something more important than not forgetting car keys and something more worthwhile than remembering passports, visas, and money. This something is really a Someone, and His name is Jesus. Some go through life trivializing their sins and the things of God and simply forgetting about Jesus. Others make a little bit of an effort to remember Him, but they never secure Him by faith in their hearts. Whatever the excuse, those who die without Jesus will be in a place of pain and torment because of their sins and will be separated from God forever. If you die without Jesus, you will have no option for a second trip, and the U.S. embassy has no power to send a dead man home to be with Jesus in heaven. Have you trusted Jesus to save you forever? If not, remember to do so, right now!
And, for all of us who believe, as we approach the anniversary of Jesus’ ultimate miracle, His resurrection from the dead, don’t forget to remember Him.
“For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you; that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’” 1 Corinthians 11:1-2