Remember

Remember your Creator... (Ecclesiates 12:1)

​Robert Laurence Binyon published a poem in The Times newspaper in September 1941; it was entitled ‘For the Fallen’ but is more widely known as ‘We will remember them’. It is quoted each year on 11th November, Armistice Day. Last week, our Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, quoted the words at a 75th VJ Day commemoration. He said, 

 ‘At the going down of the sun and in the morning, 
 We will remember them’.

​Imagine a society where we didn’t ‘remember’ these momentous events. We would all be the poorer for it.

I was meditating this week on the word ‘remember’, considering some circumstances when it appears in the Bible. I felt the weight of the importance of this word. In Luke’s gospel, we read that one of the two criminals crucified with Jesus, comes to a point where he realises his own sin and says:
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“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”  (Luke 23:42)

The word ‘remember’ here, doesn’t just mean to bring something to mind. The criminal wasn’t asking Jesus to simply think about him. The ‘remember’ here requires action, some kind of outward gesture, effort or activity. In this case, the criminal wanted Jesus to grant him admittance to Heaven. Jesus assured Him that this would be so. 

Similarly, we find the word ‘remember’ in Ecclesiastes 12. The word Ecclesiastes comes from a Greek word ‘ekklesia’ which means ‘assembly’ or ‘congregation’. We read in The Bible that Solomon was visited by ambassadors and kings who wanted to hear his wisdom. In Ecclesiastes 12:1-7, he instructs his audience eight times to ‘remember’ their creator. For example;

Ecclesiastes 12:2 Remember him before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is dim to your old eyes...
Ecclesiastes 12:3  Remember him before your legs—the guards of your house—start to tremble...
Ecclesiastes 12:4 Remember him before the door to life’s opportunities is closed and the sound of work fades... 

​Perhaps this message was delivered to a younger audience because it refers to youth, but the principle of ‘remembering’ our creator applies to us all, irrespective of our age.

I wonder what action you need to take today in order to ‘remember’ your creator . Perhaps you have neglected to take time aside every day to be alone with God to pray, to read scripture and simply be in His presence. Or perhaps you have become so busy with work that no time is left for those for whom your Saviour would have you remember, to visit the sick or those in prison. (Matthew 25:43). 
Perhaps you have been letting you minds wander away a little bit too frequently day dreaming of that holiday in the sun, that shiny new car or the next home makeover.

Whatever it is that you need to do to remember your creator, make room for it and your life will be all the richer as a result of it.

Pauline Anderson