The Upload
Posted on Feb 20, 2015 by
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
I pray you have had a blessed week!
Later this year, on August 9, to be exact, Jill and I will celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. We met while we were still in high school, and after dating for over four years, as Jill would say, “We finally got married!” You know, when you’ve been together as long as we have, you have a lot of shared memories. Well, actually, we have a lot of shared experiences that oftentimes we remember differently. Like most people, we often have slightly different memories of the same exact experience, and when we do, sometimes those differing memories can lead to a lively “conversation.”
In our Old Testament text for this coming Sunday (Genesis 9:8-17), God says to Noah and Noah’s sons, “When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth" (9:16). Unlike us, God remembers the pain he created when he wiped out creation with the flood and he made a promise “that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood” (Genesis 9:11). I am glad that God’s memory is better than ours.
Now, most people, especially those of us who were raised in a church, know the story of Noah and the flood, and most of us think of God’s promise, at least fleetingly, when we see a rainbow. But how many of us remember that the rainbow was intended as a sign to God, not to us? Even though I have studied it many times, I remembered it differently. The story of the flood is a story that tells us that God can indeed be trusted and that he will remember his promises to us.
We are reminded this Sunday that God can be trusted and that God’s compassion, mercy, and love outweigh God’s judgment, wrath, and condemnation. And the key to all of this is remembering the story, remembering God’s promises to us and God’s covenant of grace with us.
After 35-plus years together, at times Jill and I do have trouble remembering the same details of our life together or remembering the same details the same way, but we always remember we love each other and want the best for each other. And so it is with God and us. We sometimes remember the story of God’s love differently, we forget details others think are important, but underneath it all, we can be sure of one thing, God will always love us, and as the Psalmist said, “All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees” (Psalm 25:10).
Have a blessed week.
Shalom,
Pastor Dave