Remembering the Past
Joshua 4:6-7
"That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever."
In July of 2020, a group of students at a university circulated a petition that demanded the removal of a statue from the school's campus. Thousands of students added their names, joining the call for the change to be made. Such a demand is not new in our society, but this petition was especially ironic. It was issued in Seattle on the campus of the University of Washington, the flagship school in the state of Washington. And yet the petition called for the removal of a statue of George Washington, for whom both the state and the school are named.
While not everything in the past is good, and not everything in the present is bad, when people set out to destroy their heritage and history, they are taking a dangerous step. God commanded monuments and memorials to be built so that the people would remember what had happened in the past and how He had worked on their behalf. It is important for a culture, and especially for a Christian, to not allow the past to be forgotten. Solomon warned, “Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set” (Proverbs 22:28).
As the society around us becomes more focused on wiping away the past, it is all the more important for us to remember it. We do this not for the sake of tradition, but for the sake of truth. Things that were true yesterday are still true today and will still be true tomorrow. We must not allow the “stones” that remind us of the things God has done in the past to be removed. Rather, we should continually remind ourselves of God's past works in our lives.
Growth Principle:
Take time today to remember God's past faithfulness and goodness in your life.