“Remember Lot’s wife!” (Luke 17:32, NIV)
It pains me that I have such a poor memory.
I don’t think this is the product of age. Not yet. And I wouldn’t say I am forgetful in all things. But boy, it hurts when a good golf round turns bad and I suddenly realize that in these past few holes I have completely forgotten the swing thoughts that were working earlier in the round. Jesus’ disciples couldn’t watch and pray for an hour. I can’t hold on to a helpful swing thought for more than a few good holes.
Not one in 10 quizzed Christians could tell you what this unusual remembrance is or where it is found.The Bible actually exhorts us to remember. The writers of Scripture knew the value of clinging by memory to certain key concepts and practices. Jewish men were directed in the law to wear tassels on their robes for the express purpose of helping them remember to obey the commands of the Lord.
Before this, we read that God set the rainbow in the sky after the flood so that he would himself remember not to destroy life with such a judgment again. Certainly, God does not have a failing memory! Yet devices and practices to help us remember serve to bring important matters to the forefront of our minds.
The most notable mnemonic device in the Christian church is communion (what some churches call the Lord’s Supper or the Eucharist). As believers in Jesus, we are to share the bread (his body) and the cup (his blood) “in remembrance” of him, according to his own instruction. In fact, Paul wrote to the Corinthians, when we do this we not only remember Jesus’ sacrifice for us, but we “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26).
For the Scripture’s notable exhortations to remember—“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” is another—only one comes with the translators’ inclusion of an exclamation point. Guessing at Jesus’ tone is not an exact science; still, not one in 10 quizzed Christians could tell you what this unusual remembrance is or where it is found.
At three words, “Remember Lot’s wife!” comes quite close to earning a tie for shortest verse in the Bible alongside the very famous “Jesus wept” of John 11:35. Maybe Jesus’ terseness by itself was enough to cause ears to open.
“What about Lot’s wife, Jesus? What are we to remember?”
This: Lot’s wife was distracted by things that did not last. Her eyes were on where she had been rather than where she was going.
I need to remember Lot’s wife, because where I have been—and even what I am caught up in now: “Eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building” (Luke 17:28)—these are the things that cause me to forget Jesus. To forget the price he paid to move me to higher ground. To forget that the life I live here is only temporary. To forget that I am loved and redeemed apart from even my very best exertions.
Do you know anyone like me?
—
Jeff Hopper
October 18, 2017
Copyright 2017 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.