Remember Me!

Periodically I make a journey across the mountains into Kentucky and Indiana to see extended family members. I watch the odometer to check distance between towns and so measure my progress. After many such trips I am also measuring my progress by the roadside crosses that I pass.

Most have a name, full or nickname. Some have a picture, some elaborate, some sketched, at least one imprinted on a now faded tee shirt. Many have flowers, usually artificial, but some are fresh and seem to be replaced on a regular basis. We know each represents some terrible tragedy that in the blink of an eye took a loved one or ones from a family.

Those crosses are placed so that others will remember and never forget.

During the most recent trip, my elder son and I spent some time in the Cave Hill Cemetery of Louisville, KY, taking pictures of designs and inscriptions. The newer sections resemble most others in our current trends. The older sections, however, reminded me of the pictures of cemeteries in London, England or our own New Orleans. The monuments to the deceased were elaborate, ornate, imaginative, and many were BIG!

Statements of love and compassion adorned many. Statues illustrated the heroic aspects of the human spirit. Mausoleums were designed to appear as churches or small homes. Wealth was turned into stone to express the grief or pride or both in the loss of husband or wife, son or daughter. One thirty-foot monument even had the last will and testament concerning the material possessions of the deceased cut into it to insure there would be no doubt about his intents after his death.

The monuments were placed there so that others would remember and never forget.

One individual in the past made his memorial a living one. He expressed his desire not to be forsaken and forgotten while being crucified. He expressed his desire to the Son of God who was dying on the cross next to him. His cry of "Remember me" has lived down through the centuries as the cry of all of us as we turn our faces to God in our hours of greatest need (Luke 23).

"Remember me!" None of us want to believe that at our deaths our lives will become only as dust in the wind, blown away and never noticed again. We want someone somewhere to acknowledge that our lives had meaning and value, and that somehow something about this world is different because we lived. Did anyone notice that we passed by?

I believe that all such cries are remembered. Will our passing receive headlines? For most of us the answer is no. Few of us will ever be mentioned in a history book. Unless some future family member is big into genealogy, there is a good chance that your name will not be recognized by your own kin after about four generations. Yet our need to be remembered will not be ignored.

God doesn't forget anything (except our forgiven sins). In multiple passages in the Bible, we are reminded that God has taken steps to insure we are not forgotten. Yes, the Bible uses the very human terminology of books, but how else can we sinful mortals illustrate the fact that God will not forget us (Hosea 8; Malachi 4; Revelation 20)?

The response of Jesus to the thief on the cross is the answer we all long to hear. We will not be forgotten. We will not be ignored. We do not need to build huge monuments to ourselves to keep from being lost in history. "This day you will be with me in paradise." Such assurance need not be prophetic as to the time of our reunion with Christ. It is sufficient in that it reminds us that we will be united at some point. When is not important, only that we will be remembered.

The Persecuted Church

November 13 is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. The event is sponsored and promoted by such organizations as The Voice of the Martyrs, <persecution.com>. The free Church of the west would do well to remember its many brothers and sisters in other parts of the world who must worship their God in darkened rooms and secret places in wilderness areas. Persecution is real. Loss of financial support, jobs, homes, health, and even life are risks that believers of Christ must often face if they seek to remain faithful.

Throughout the year I notice how our nation remembers those who have contributed to its strength and progress. Not all notables are military. We memorialize those who have made life safer, easier, and its materials and cultural blessings more accessible to more people. We have celebrations, parades, speeches, offer awards and examples to those who have succeeded and to those who would follow.

How do we as Christians measure up in celebrating the heroes of our Father's Kingdom? Even setting aside some names that would raise disagreement, we have more than enough martyrs in our faith heritage to give us reason to remember with pride those who have gone before. Not considering the martyrs, individuals beyond count have made sacrifices that resulted in the advancement of the Kingdom of God. They turned their backs on family, material comforts, and positions of privilege. Do our church members celebrate these individuals? Do our church members know what they have done? Do our church members know their names?

David Platt, pastor of the Church at Brook Hills, has a special interest in the persecuted church, the Secret Church, due to his contact with them in various countries. His broadcasts of Bible studies under that name have been received by more than 50,000 people at a time through simulcasts. His experiences in working with the persecuted church have led him to see the strength of the church can never be in its material image or possessions but only in its faithful sacrifice. His book, Radical, is a result of this faith pilgrimage.

At least once a year our churches should remember that not all Christians enjoy religious freedom. We should remember that many Christians are paying heavy prices for living out their faith. We should remember that the freedom to worship openly without government interference is a blessing and a freedom granted by man and as such can be taken away by man. We should also remember that the strength of our faith is not determined by the laws of the land but by the Lord of our hearts. Our persecuted brethern know that all too well.

My plea is that on at least one day of the year our churches remember that the strength of our own fairh may well be dependent upon the faithful prayers of individuals who cannot share their prayers. The strength of our faith may be dependent upon the faithful lifestyles of individuals for whom such a lifestyle will result in imprisonment, torture, or death. It may well be that as we enjoy our freedom to worship, we do so because people who have no such freedom are praying for us. Let us take the time to pray for them.