“For I remember the sincere faith which
resides in you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois, and your mother
Eunice…” (2nd Timothy 1:5)
I have so often
reminded my interns and clients,
“Forget the
messenger if you must. Just don’t forget the Message.”
And each and
every time I say these words, I sincerely mean it. And yet… I think every human
being who ever lived, and moved, and breathed on this earth has experienced a
need for recognition, or at least appreciation.
One of my
former interns once shared a spontaneous expression of recognition and
appreciation with me which I will never forget, and which will always be a
watershed moment in my life.
“Dr. Bill, I
don’t want to disappoint you. I’ll go for you when you can no longer go. I’ll
speak for you when you can no longer speak. I’ll reach, teach and keep people
in your name long after you have gone on to your reward.”
And in spite
of my persuasion that it’s okay to forget the messenger, I know that those whom
God has set in my pathway, and whom He gave me to impact will never forget me.
However,
yesterday the title for this particular thesis materialized “out of thin air,”
and sat like a lead weight on my mind.
Ever since
our first parents enjoyed the beauty of a garden somewhere in the Mideast,
those who have been biologically or spiritually birthed by someone who has gone
on before them…remember.
And yet,
just as surely as the remembered have passed from this earth, so shall the
rememberer follow in their providential footsteps.
For you see,
when the rememberer dies, a new rememberer remembers the former rememberer; who
then takes his turn as the remembered. And he or she who was previously
remembered no longer has any wherewithal to be remembered.
Pt. 2
To be sure,
we have not forgotten the renown poets, or religious leaders, or presidents, or
dictators, or, for that matter, our ancient family members. I mean, they have
left us their writing, and photos, films, audios and oral traditions.
But when the
rememberer dies such stuff as this somehow fails to quench the proverbial thirst
of the succeeding generations; since that flesh and blood person who could be
touched, and seen and heard and…loved has long since submitted himself or
herself to the inevitable.
When the
rememberer dies.
I am grateful for my
ancestors who “remembered” me before I was a twinkle, as I also remember those among
my descendants who are still a theory, but who will one day live, and move and
breathe and inhabit this planet. I like to think that some of my ancestors prayed
for me, as I also pray for those who will follow me; both my biological and
spiritual grandchildren and great grandchildren.
When the rememberer
dies.
Ah, but The
Rememberer, with a capital “R”, the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last,
the King of kings and Lord of lords, the “I Am” of the ages will never die, and
is incapable of forgetting.
And I find a
great deal of solace in the foregoing realization, and I absolutely love the
verse in the sixth chapter of Hebrews.
“God is not
unjust. He will not forget your work
and the love you have shown for His name, as you have ministered to the saints
and continue to do so.”
Yes, my dear friend, forget
the messenger if you must.
It is enough that God
has not forgotten me, nor has He forgotten you.
by William McDonald, PhD. Copyright Pending
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