Your Very Life

“He established a testimony in Jacob

and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers

to teach to their children,

that the next generation might know them,

the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,

so that they should set their hope in God

and not forget the works of God,

but keep his commandments;

and that they should not be like their fathers,

a stubborn and rebellious generation,

a generation whose heart was not steadfast,

whose spirit was not faithful to God.” (Psalm 78:5-8 ESV)

I have often summarized the Old Testament for my students: God told his people to obey him and everything would go well for them. They said they would; things went well. They stopped obeying; things went badly. They repented; God had mercy on them. He told them to obey him and things would go well with them; they said they would. Repeat.

If anyone was familiar with the tendency of God’s chosen people to forget what they were supposed to do, it was Moses. When he was about to die, he made one last effort to keep the people on track. After he wrote the Law in a book and had it placed in the Ark of the Covenant, he called the people together. He said, “I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly and turn aside from the way that I have commanded you” (Deut. 31:29 ESV). Then he sang a song for them, emphasizing the importance of his teaching, recounting the power and promises of God, and summarizing the story of their repeated disobedience.

Then Moses told them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess” (Deut. 32:46-47 ESV).

Moses left Joshua in charge of the Israelites, but he also left the written commandments and the song he had planted in the minds of the people. He had done all he could do.

Forgetting our own nature, it’s easy to find ourselves baffled by the behavior of the Israelites. How did the same people who saw the mighty works of God during the time of the exodus so quickly forget their experience, come to doubt God’s power, and reject the way of obedience?

They forgot to diligently teach God’s law and their history to their children as they had been commanded to do (Deut 6:7-9). They stopped talking about these things when they were sitting, walking, lying down, or getting up. They failed to keep the commandments in front of them, and they weren’t intentional about writing them on their doorposts and gates.

The New Testament writers knew that human nature hadn’t changed over the centuries since Moses shepherded God’s people. They also express a compulsion to teach and remind.

To the Romans, Paul said he was satisfied with their ability to instruct each other, but “on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder” (Rom. 15:15 ESV).

Because Paul wanted the Corinthians to imitate him, he sent Timothy “to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church” (I Cor. 4:17 ESV).

In the same letter, he says again, “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you . . . ” (v. 15:1 ESV).

Paul tells the Philippians, “To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. Look out . . . look out . . . look out” (Phil. 3:1-2 ESV).

As Peter writes his second letter, he seems to have the same sense of urgency Jesus had in Gethsemane while Peter and the other disciples slept. “Therefore I intend always to remind you . . . I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder . . . and I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things” (2 Pet. 1:12-15 ESV). Again, “This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder. . .” (2 Pet. 3:1 ESV).

Jude’s short letter contains the same kind of warning. “Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it . . .” (Jude 1:5 ESV). “But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:7 ESV).

We can’t remind each other of something we don’t know. We can’t teach our children something we haven’t learned. But we don’t have to be biblical scholars to teach what is essential: “Christ, and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2 ESV). We must, for the gospel “is no empty word for you, but your very life” (Deut. 32:47 ESV).

Creator God, you know how we are formed, we’re forgetful, willful dust. Help us always to be lifting up one another. Remind us to remind each other of the inexpressible gift of your grace through the blood of Jesus. In his name, Amen.

Scripture for Reflection

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in Glory.” (Col. 3:1-4 ESV)

Reach for More

Most of us don’t wear phylacteries, but we ought to be reminding ourselves and each other of the truth of God’s word. Make a point of reading one of the Gospels in the coming week. Choose some of Jesus’ words to memorize and post in your home or car where you’ll see them every day.

Through the gift of a faithful mother and grandmother, Diane Pendergraft grew up knowing Jesus as a friend. Married for nearly two-thirds of her life, there has been time for several seasons, from homeschooling to owning a coffee shop. She has three grown children and eight grandchildren. An element of this season is writing about literature and life at Plumfield and Paideia.