There was a patch of wild forget-me-nots on the bank of a creek that formed the border of our back yard when I was growing up. It must have been my mother who told me the name of the pretty little blue flowers, and it always interested me. I tried to imagine how they got their name and made up stories that might apply. As a child I liked to visit the flowers and sometimes pick them to bring home. Other times, I only sat in the grass near them and wondered at their name.

From the very childhood of the nation of Israel, God spoke to them through Moses: “Be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” (Deuteronomy 6:12) These words are part of the very formative message that God gave to His people. They follow closely the gift of the Ten Commandments, and God’s intentions and instructions for the life of freedom with Him when they arrive at His destination for them. Indeed, much of the Old Testament is concerned with God’s methods of reminding His people of their covenant with Him: These commandments that I give you are to be on your hearts. Impress them upon your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)

God gave His people a story to remember in the Exodus, a story that revealed His power and His love for them in orchestrating their release from slavery. The memory would last for millennia and would nourish the faith of the nation. It nourishes all believers to this day.

God’s message to remember succeeded in planting seeds of faith that sometimes seem to have disappeared, but one in particular nourished God’s own son on the cross. Luke tells us that one of the thieves crucified next to Jesus said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” ( Luke 23:42) For that simple request, the thief received these immortal words: “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

The message to “remember” our God echoes throughout the old and new Testaments. I wonder if the forget-me-nots ever triggered a desire in someone to be remembered by our God, as the thief was.

Love in Him,

Prue