Remember

By Roy Page
Pastor of Vancouver and Prince George, BC congregations.

One of the paradoxes of Christianity is that in our weakness we can become strong, and in our powerlessness God will empower us. Another paradox is that as disciples of Jesus he calls us to a righteousness that is beyond our ability to achieve. He sets us up to become totally frustrated and discouraged as we strive to "Enter the small, narrow gate…and walk the narrow road that leads to life" (Matthew 7:13-14).

Jesus revealed to us not the law of God but the love of God. He demonstrated this in such a dramatic, selfless way to inspire us to follow him out of sheer love and gratitude - not fear of punishment or principled duty. We know that sin not only breaks God's law but also breaks his heart. The greatest sorrow we feel is when we "let our Father down" so to speak, and fall short of his desire for us.

William Barclay, a famous Scottish biblical scholar, puts it this way:

"A Christian's goodness should come, not from fear of the law, not even from the fear of judgment, but from the fear of disappointing the love of Christ and of grieving the fatherly heart of God…. It is not the law of God but the love of God which constrains us." This is the very thing Paul said about himself and his companions (2 Corinthians 5:14, RSV).

But we all fall short, don't we? Sometimes it even leads us to wonder if we should even continue to try to live this way, since it can seem so futile. But Jesus knows that we will sometimes (oftentimes?) fall short of what he desires us to be. What he wants us to always remember is that the perfection he calls us to is not something we can achieve by our own efforts. Instead, it is one of the many gifts that he will eventually give us-however many times we fall along the way.

He wants us to have the heart and the desire to please him. That is why he is not ashamed to say that King David was "a man after my own heart" (not a man after my own actions or deeds-some of which fell far short of Jesus' perfection).

Jesus commanded us to regularly partake of his body and blood-the bread and the wine-so that we would always remember his death. His death by crucifixion constantly reminds us of the extent of his love and desire for our good- something he never wants us to forget. This is especially important to remember when we are burdened by our "falling short." That is the time when we need to be reminded (again) that upon confession of our sin every wrong is righted and we are renewed in the righteousness of Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Often the consequences of our actions present us with major challenges, but we must never think that suffering the effects of our wrongdoing means we haven't been forgiven. God even uses those challenges to help us mature and become more Christ-like from the inside out. Our joy can come from knowing that we are not under condemnation- God wants us to learn from the experience, get back up and allow him to use even our weakness to his glory. David became a better and wiser person as a result of his experiences. The Psalmist says, "It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees" and "Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word" (Psalm 119:71, 67).

No wonder Jesus didn't give us a day to celebrate but an event to experience: a vivid touch, taste, smell, hear and seeing reminder that falling short of perfection is no reason to give up on striving for the perfection that is godliness.

Jesus didn't suffer so that we would give up, rather he suffered so that we would get up: "Forgetting what is behind (our mistakes) and straining toward what is ahead (our perfection), we press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14).

When you "fall down" and are tempted to stay down, call to mind what Jesus said: "Remember!"

This article first appeared in the Canadian Northern Light of March/April 2003 and was used with permission