Confession: I easily forget.
I’d say I have a good memory. It hangs on to all of the things I need to get through life, lots of extra random, useless facts and fun anecdotes. Somedays, though, I can’t tell you the last time I washed my hair. Or I might know a long list of details about a person but won’t be able to remember their first name to save my life. It fascinates me how my memory can be so reliable and yet unreliable at the same time. God created us so intricately and wonderfully designed, yet we’re still human.
This week, as I’ve reflected on Easter and all that Resurrection Sunday means, I’ve been reminded of just how easily I forget. I’ve been reminded that I am in fact human. I found myself feeling a little bit of shame over the fact that it takes a holiday once a year to remind me of the weight of what Jesus accomplished on the cross. After all, God, in His loving kindness sent His Son to be the perfect sacrifice to pay a debt I could never pay on my own. Three days later He rose after conquering sin and death and making it possible for each of us to spend eternity with Him if we just believe. How do you forget something as life changing as that?
But I do. Not really, not completely; I could tell you the Gospel backwards and forwards at the drop of the hat. But I forget the weight of it and what it means in the minute by minute rhythm of life. I get anxious over things, I let my pride cloud my judgement and I try to control my circumstances and situations. I have a hard time extending grace, even though I’ve had grace so lavishly given to me. I get frustrated with people, even though I’m just as broken and fallen as they are.
Here’s the beauty about Easter: It reminds us not only of the victory of the cross, but that God is in fact making all things new.
The Gospel means so much more than simply eternal life. It means eternity with a Savior who heals broken hearts and binds up our wounds (Psalm 147:3). It means that while the sin, death and the brokenness of this world still cause us pain, it is oh so temporary. God, in His sovereignty, is working to make all things new and one day all of the hurt and pain will be a far off, distant memory. Revelation 21: 4-5 says this:
“…He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new…’”
Can you imagine? A world without tears; a world without pain. A world where sin no longer plagues us and fear no longer controls us. A world that is completely new and where all of these bad, hard things have completely passed away.
How silly is it that I let the little annoyances of this life cloud the fact that I serve a God who is faithful to fulfill His promises? Why do I let the temporary hurts and the brokenness of my flesh steal the hope and joy of a day when all of this will pass away? Too often do I let the enemy have the victory. Too often I forget where the victory truly lies.
I’m so thankful that the Holy Spirit, in the midst of the programmatic, chaotic, marketing hey-day that Easter can be, uses it to remind us of the hope we have in Jesus Christ. I’m also thankful that it’s not just this one day that reminds my forgetful mind; that He so graciously reminds me in the gentlest of ways throughout the year. Even when my thick skull doesn’t get it, He still lovingly pursues me. He reminds my easily forgetful heart. Hallelujah, what a Saviour.