Forgotten

“But my people have forgotten me; they make offerings to false gods; they made them stumble in their ways, in the ancient roads, and to walk into side roads, not the highway,” (Jeremiah 18:15, ESV)

One Christmas, we were in the middle of a move from a Chicago suburb to Savannah Georgia. All the household goods were packed up in a moving van along with our second car. We headed to Savannah, but made a stop in the Philadelphia to see our folks with a plan to stay for a week before the final part of our trip.

Well, everything was going fine. However, we were to arrive in Philly on Christmas Eve. The problem was that, in the middle of our transition, we had not done a good job of shopping for our children. It was around 8 PM when we got to my parent’s place. I thought that the department store, “Two Guys” that I worked in the summer prior to entering college would be open. It was always open until 10:00 PM, even on Christmas Eve. However, things had changed. My wife and I were in panic mode. We were concerned that our kids would get the impression that we had forgotten them.

The only places that were open were drug stores. No, we did not buy our kids drugs. The stores did not sell much in the way of toys, but we found some things that might fill the gap. We also bought some candy for their stockings. We wanted to make sure that we remembered their Christmas.

You know, growing up, while our family was not rich when we were kids, my parents never forgot us at Christmas time. I never wanted my children to feel that we had forgotten them.

According to this verse, Israel had forgotten the Lord their God. This should never have been. The Lord God had watched over the nation like a loving parent. He had protected them. He had delivered them from slavery in Egypt. He had given them the Land of Caanan, a rich and prosperous land. He constantly had shown them mercy and grace in spite of their constant failures of faith and devotion. Yet Israel had forgotten Him, as demonstrated in their apostasy and idolatry. In essence, this was a slap in the face of the Almighty.

The question is this. At times, do we fail to remember God? How would this forgetfulness look? Could it be when we fail to speak with Him in prayer, discussing the serious issues of our life? He is our loving Father who wants to hear from us.

Could it be in a lack of desire to hear from Him? How does this happen? It may be when we spend weeks without reading or studying His word. It might be in a failure to heed to the teachings of His word as the Holy Spirit reveals clear application to us.

Could it be when other things become false gods, idols, to us, that drag us away from our devotion to our loving heavenly Father? As a dad, myself, I think about how sad it would be if my children broke off all contact with me. It would tear my heart out.

If we falter in our devotion to God, let us renew our devotion to Him. He loves us and has provided everything for us. After all, He sent His own Son to die on a cross to pay the penalty of our sin so that we could have eternal life. He has shown us, who have believed in Jesus and the work He did on the cross, infinite mercy. He has granted us grace, the infinite blessings of His riches for every area of life, both now and forever.

So, if we find ourselves forgetting Him, let us renew our love and devotion to Him.