“Constant Reminders”
Deuteronomy 6:1-9
2 Timothy 3:14-17
Near the intersection of Rt. 340 and Rt. 608 is a
historical marker, which tells about a man by the name of John Colter, who was
born in Stuarts Draft around 1775, and who went on to become a member of Lewis
and Clark’s northern expedition.
As all of us know, the
There are other stories we know too, but these
stories aren’t found on historical markers next to roads. They are found in the memories of our
ancestors. They are stories of our
families, the stories of old, the stories that are also passed down through the
generations, the stories that also serve as a constant reminder of the history
that we are a part of.
The stories we hear from and about our ancestors are
more than just stories of past people. They are stories about us. They help us define who we are, where we come
from, and to whom we belong. They are a
constant reminder that our history doesn’t begin with our birth and end with
our death.
Our history encompasses an enormous expanse of time,
from countless generations and events of the past, to generations that have yet
to be born and events that have yet to happen.
We are but one small, but significant, part of a much larger
story, a story that not only reaches far back into our past, but includes the
present and the future, because our story is more than just about what happened
before us, our story is also about what is happening in our lives now, and about
will happen in the lives of those who come after us.
This is why our stories are so important for us. This is why we need to know our stories. This is why we need to be constantly reminded
of our stories, because it is our stories of the past that help guide and
direct us into the unknown future.
Each of us has our own family story, a story we
belong to, and a story that belongs to us, and yet, there is another family
story all of us belong to, another family story that belongs to us, and that is
the family story of God’s people.
This story doesn’t just go back several generations,
but to the beginning of time when God created man and woman, to the people whom
God called into a covenant relationship, people such as Abraham and Sarah,
Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachel, and David, to the events that shaped their
lives, and ultimately, for the world, to the life, death, and resurrection of
Jesus Christ, and the creation of the church.
This story, like our own family stories, is the story
of old, the story that has been passed down through the ages, the story that
defines who we are, where we come from, to whom we belong, and most importantly
where we are going.
Our text for this morning, takes us back to a time
long, long ago, not to a galaxy far away, but right here on earth, to the
mountainous desert of Moab, just east of the Dead Sea, in present day
Jordan. It is here that the Israelites
have gathered. It is here in the deserts
of
What is so significant about Deuteronomy? This book is the bridge between the story of
the Israelites’ past we find in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, and the story
of the Israelites’ future we find in the remainder of the Old Testament. But maybe the most important question for us, is why does Moses have to remind the Israelites of
anything? Why does Moses need to remind
them of their 400 years of captivity by the Egyptians? Why does Moses have to remind them of escape
across the
Because a
whole generation has passed since the Israelites left
Brothers and sisters, like the Israelites at the edge of the promise land, we too find ourselves at the edge of a new promise land as the next generation in a long line of generations who have come before us. Their story is none other than our own story, our own story of God’s deliverance, our own story of God’s laws and commandments, our own story as God’s chosen people, our own story we have been called to pass on to those who will come after us.
What is this story we are called to pass on? On the one hand it is the love of God we have
in Jesus Christ, but on the other hand it is so much more. The story we are called to pass on to the
next generation of God’s people is the faith and Biblical knowledge we have as
God’s people.
And that is not an easy task, which is why all of us
need constant reminders of what our story is.
Not only do we need to hear the story over and over, but we need to also
know the story. We need to know the
story so intimately that not only does it become a part of us, but we become a
faithful part of it, because we must never forget that we are the continuation
of the story, the story that God even now is at work in, the story that even
now is being spoke about and worked out in our daily lives, the story that will
continue until its fulfillment on the last day.
How can we begin to know our story? We can begin by continuing to read and study
the Bible, for it is only in the Bible where we will find our story, not on any
historical marker by the street, or in any text book in our schools, and certainly
not on any television set in our living rooms, and television evangelists don’t
count, but in the Bible we have in our own homes and in our church.
How can we begin to know our story? By following the laws and commandments of God
as given to us in Scripture, not as a way to make ourselves right with God, but
as the way in which we respond and commit ourselves to being in relationship
with God in the right way.
How can we begin to know our story? By telling it to our children and our
children’s children wherever we are, and whatever we are doing over and over
again. Any time is the right time to
talk about God with our children. Any
time is the right time to talk about Jesus with our children. Any time is the right time to demonstrate to
our children our own faith in our Lord and Savior, and our commitment to his
church.
Knowing our story isn’t about going through the
motions of Christianity, it’s about being the people of God as Christians. It’s about making an impact in the lives of
our children, so that our story becomes the story of our children, so that some
day, our children will gather their own children in their arms, and with a
Bible in hand, will say to them, “This is the story of salvation through faith
in Jesus Christ. This is your
grandparent’s story, this is my story, and now this is your story.” Amen.