Lest We Forget

The phrase “lest we forget” is often used in connection with Veterans Day (formerly known as Armistice Day) on November 11, as Americans remember the service of men and women in our military forces to defend our country and protect our liberties. Even before the term was used in reference to veterans, it was used in a poem written by Rudyard Kipling called “Recessional” in which lest we forget is repeated 8 times (twice at the end of each of the 4 stanzas) as a way of emphasizing the dangers of failing to remember. But the phrase “lest we forget” actually originates in the Bible:

Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren… Deuteronomy 4:9

“Remembering” figures prominently in the Bible. Indeed, according to one source, the word remember is found 352 times in the Scriptures. The Old Testament is replete with exhortations to “remember His wonders which He has done, His marvels and the judgments uttered by His mouth” (Psalm 105:5), as if to ask, for example:

Remember when God delivered you from slavery?

Remember how God provided food and water for you in the desert?

Remember how God guided you into the Promised Land?

Remember when God gave you victory over the Amalekites, over Jericho, and over many other enemies?

In children’s Sunday School, we are journeying with Joshua and the Israelites as they approach and enter the Promised Land.  A recent lesson was about the 12 stones that were taken from the middle of the Jordan River, which the Lord parted so that His people could cross. The stones were assembled as a memorial, a visible reminder of what God had done for them, so that “when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying ‘What are these stones?’ then you shall inform your children, saying, ‘Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground.’”(Joshua 4:21-22)

“Remembering” figures prominently in the New Testament and in our Christian lives as well. Jesus told His disciples the night He was betrayed that they were to eat of the bread and drink of the cup, remembering His body which was broken for them and His blood which was shed for them. “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:26) And, so we do—remember and proclaim—as we come together for worship and celebrate Holy Communion every Sunday.

Passing along the remembrances recorded in the Bible to the next generation is certainly important, but we should not neglect to tell others about how God has sustained and provided for us personally in this present age.   Tell others how what seemed to be a disaster actually turned into an opportunity and a blessing; how God’s plan superseded and worked out for the better over our own plans; how a time of hardship, sickness, great loss or personal suffering became a time of growth in wisdom, of walking closer with Jesus, of deepening our appreciation for the “ordinary” blessings of life, or of increasing our empathy for others in the midst of similar struggles. What an effective witness to the present reality of God’s power and love—sharing your own testimony of how God has worked in your life and what Jesus has meant to you.

Remembering and thanking God for His wondrous deeds can go hand and hand. And another November holiday tradition affords a perfect time to do so—Thanksgiving.

May this Thanksgiving be a special time of remembrance as you share with family and friends the ways—big and little—that God has been at work in your life. And may you find that remembering, thanking and sharing about God’s faithfulness in the past will help you trust Him even more in the present and the future.   Lest you forget.

 I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.   Psalm 89:1

Jan Robinson