Remember me. That is a bittersweet statement that people have used down through the years. Do you remember the innocence of youth when the most crucial thing in life was reaching the swing set before anyone else at recess? Or the fun of climbing a tree or the thrill of riding a bicycle down a steep hill without crashing or going to a matinee? How about watching cartoons on Saturday morning? Or spending the night in the backyard in sleeping bags under the stars with your best friend?
Remember me. How many times do we think of loved ones we no longer meet in the store or talk to on the phone or invite over for coffee? Years continue to roll by. We say hello to new people, and we say goodbye to others whom we hate to lose. Neither life nor time can be halted—one of the most profound truths ever spoken. But it doesn’t stop us from trying to thwart the journey of life or wish time would stand still.
Stupid pandemic!
The last couple of months have been a continuing season of difficulty in the Warren household. The pandemic has played a part. (All four of our family got very sick at the same time.) One of our family members is in hospice; two dear friends were just diagnosed with cancer; and other friends face a marriage on the brink of destruction.
Bad things happen, and the world can be cruel. Why is the world this way?
I’m not going to sugarcoat the answer. It’s because of sin, evil, separation from God. Lots of people don’t like to hear the truth about why this world is fallen. So if that’s how you feel, you may need to move on to a different blog. For the rest of you who are still reading, buckle up.
I realized my dependence on God and how important He was to me in my preteen years. Kids at this age usually know a lot more about the world than their parents realize. At some point, reality sets in, and the innocence of youth disappears—sometimes overnight. Someone is in the wrong place at the wrong time, and life changes forever. Remember me? “I remember you—like it was yesterday. You reached out to me, and I was so inadequate to the need. I’m sorry I failed you, my friend.” How many times have we looked back on life and whispered those words to a memory?
Still a fixer.
As a teenager, I remember thinking that I don’t know how anyone could survive this life without God. I didn’t understand why I felt that way. I don’t even know how I came to this realization. Maybe it was seeing the pain of this world all around me and knowing that I could not fix it. (How about that! Even back then, I was a fixer.)
We live in a fallen world. Because of this, everyone will experience hardships, sickness, and, eventually, death. If that were all there was to life, then we’d be in a truly desperate situation
! Thank God we don’t have to experience life and its challenges alone. God wants to walk with us on this journey, but there’s a gulf that separates us from God because of our sin. We could never clean up our act enough to present ourselves to God as worthy—He is holy, and we are utterly unholy. Thank God again! He provided a way to make us holy by giving his one and only son, Jesus, to pay for our sins through His death on the cross. No one likes to be told they’re sinful. We all think we’re better than everyone else.
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9)
Remember me. Jesus has offered us this great gift. We only have to do one thing: Confess and believe! It’s that easy, that swift, and that complete. God knows we couldn’t save ourselves, so He did it for us. Please, please, please don’t wait until it’s too late to seek a relationship with God. Ask Him to forgive you and save you today so that you can have your future settled. Seek Him, and you will find Him.
