Researchers have shed great light on memory loss. Comedians have used memory loss to get more than a few laughs:
Of the things I’ve lost, I miss my mind the most!
And every family has experienced the pain of a loved one with Alzheimer’s. It may surprise you to know memory loss is also a Scriptural issue. What God says about it is not likely to help the comedians or the researchers. Why? Because it’s a painful truth and too many in the scientific community suffer from the problem!
But the Word gives us a great life hack for understanding and engaging those around us. And helping/encouraging you is always the subject of this ministry. Remember, Life Lessons are about equipping for life!
Back to Basics
Everything I really need to know, I learned in kindergarten. That was the idea (title?) of a book that was popular several years ago. There is a lot of truth there. The problem is, we forget those basic principles. The Bible points to just one essential, basic principle to illustrate the most dangerous type of memory loss.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. This is the opening statement of God’s Word. By that, I mean His written Word: the Bible. He speaks in a similar fashion when John’s Gospel introduces us to the Living Word (Jesus):
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created. John 1:1-3
Are these verses too basic? Haven’t most of us known God created the heavens and the earth since before kindergarten? What incredibly valuable principles do you see in these two passages about beginnings? Here are some essential ones:
- God is
- He has always been
- He is different than us: Creator vs. created
- Who and What He is demands I answer a very basic question of monumental importance:
What is my relationship to Him and what is my responsibility before Him?
The Question Prompts Memory Loss
Huh? You see, that question places a burden on the one who asks it. The question makes one uncomfortable. The truth is, it’s most often easier to deny the truth than deal with answering the question! How do I know that? Look at what God says about it:
But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 2 Peter 3:5
Do you see it? The memory loss is intentional. This is how God led Peter to describe scoffers who live according to their own desires. They choose to forget God’s truth! Then they attempt to lead others to forget it. It’s not scientific evidence of our beginnings, it’s a choice. And that choice is why I said this is the most dangerous kind of memory loss. It has eternal consequences. I am sure you know some who suffer from it! And yes, they would rather forget the truth than answer the question above.
For added emphasis, the Word says the very heavens themselves declare the basic truth of God’s existence (see this post). The Word also tells us only a fool says there is no God. So it seems being a fool can also be a choice!
God inspired Peter and the Psalmist to instruct us and warn us. We don’t have to be surprised. We know why things are as they are. This helps to not only be at peace in a chaotic world, it can help us to help others remember the truth!
Soli Deo Gloria!
EquipUs – Equipping For Life
P.S. – There is one more basic but important truth to consider. To forget a thing means it has previously been in one’s thoughts. Simple? Yes. Since God says scoffers choose to forget (willfully ignore), the truth of Who God is must have been in their thoughts at some point in time.
Man was made for fellowship with God. Look at the Garden of Eden before sin came. In our fallen state, we innately know the truth that God is. That is why cultures all over the world have had systems of worship. We are blindly looking for something we know exists. You see, there really is a God-shaped hole in all of us. But choosing to forget reality will not fill the hole! – KB
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