After the evil Witch is killed, in C. S. Lewis’s The Silver Chair, Pulddleglum catches one Earthman who explains what is happening with the rest of the Earthmen:
“About an hour ago we were all going about our work—her work, I should say—sad and silent, same as we’ve done any other day for years and years. Then there came a great crash and bang. As soon as they heard it, everyone says to himself, I haven’t had a song or a dance or let off a squib for a long time; why’s that? And everyone thinks to himself, why, I must have been enchanted.”
Under enchantment, the Earthmen could not remember who they were, and they were sad and silent, burdened, without song or dance (or even a squib!). G. K. Chesterton wrote, “We are all under the same mental calamity … We have all forgotten who we really are.”
There is power in the English word “remember” but the power is best illustrated by its opposite. The opposite of remember is not merely to Forget—that is the opposite of to Recall—the opposite of remember is to Dismember. This is why the Earthmen hadn’t sung or danced, and it is why we are without joy and hope. We’ve all been dismembered, cut off.
This is Satan’s most powerful weapon; he spews forth lies to dismember us—to cut us off—from God, from each other, and from who we really are. His enchantment keeps us from remembering. Satan lies to Eve saying, “God is holding out on you; God doesn’t have your best interest at heart.” She eats the forbidden fruit, and is cut off.
As we look to the New Year, many of us make resolutions for future behavior. Maybe we’ll eat less or pray more. And many of us—like me—have failed so many past resolutions that we ignore the annual opportunity—we simply don’t want one more failure on our record.
Why have we failed to keep so many past New Year’s resolutions? Is it because we don’t desire health? Of course not. It’s because we lack the power—the persistent motivation—to pursue these desires; we lack the joy and hope. We’ve been dismembered. Satan lies to us saying, “God is holding out on us, God doesn’t have our best interest at heart.” And we go elsewhere for comfort. We forget, we are cut off from, the truth that Christ is more than we can ask or imagine; he is all we need.
For New Year’s, may I suggest this year we decide … to Remember.
In scripture, remembering is more powerful than mere recalling; remembering always means powerful action and healing wholeness (re-membering!). Here are a few examples of God remembering:
- Then God remembered Rachel … and opened her womb. (Gen. 30:22).
- And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her … and in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. (1 Samuel 1:19-20)
- I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel … and I have remembered my covenant … and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery. (Ex. 6:5-6)
God also calls us to remember, because true remembering means powerful action and healing wholeness:
- As God instructs the Israelites on the night of the Passover, he says, “This day shall be for you a day of remembrance, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever. (Exodus 12:14)
- When Jesus instructed the disciples on celebration of the Lord’s Supper, he said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19)
Remembering what God has done for us brings healing and power; it re-members us—it reunites us—with God, with each other, and with who God has made us to be.
G. K. Chesterton wrote, “All that we call spirit and art and ecstasy only means that for one awful instant we remember that we forget.” He is saying that our moments of joy and ecstasy can lead us to remember that we have forgotten (been dismembered or cut off) from the full life of joy and ecstasy that is meant for us.
We don’t primarily need external behavioral change. We don’t primarily need new resolutions. We need an inner power and joy that suffuses our lives with hope and life. We need to remember.
© Copyright 2012, Beliefs of the Heart, Ltd. All rights reserved.
Important truth, well said!
Yes, yes, yes. Thanks for the reminder to remember. God remembers us and we must wake up and remember him.
Well said Sam . It is really true that we are prone to forget who we are and what God have provided for us. On top of that we have never fully comprehended who we really are. According to the Word we are a new creation, formed in his image. We have been given the very spirit of God and are called to be like him in all respects. I am constantly being reminded how far I fall short of his glory. However I do on occasion get glimpses of the person that I have been called to be.
My shortcoming is not for lack of trying even though there is always plenty of room for improvement on my part. I remember or don’t remember what I already know but what I really lack is revelation of the person God has made me to be. All creation groans in anticipation of the revealing of the sons of God. I know full well who’s I am but I don’t really know who I am. It has not sunk into my heart what it means to be a child of God, endued with His every attribute. He has made me to be a god over the part of creation that He has given me. He has given me responsibility, authority, and power to rule over my assigned territory. This is too big to fit into my own self image and well beyond what I am accustomed to.
So the issue is not only forgetting, it is not knowing. I pray that I will know in my heart the reality of true son-ship. I am the only Jesus that many will ever see and I want to represent Him well.
Hi Bob, I like your line, “It is not only forgetting, it is not knowing.”
I agree. There is so much more for us to know; and part of that is recalling what we do know, and part of that is being “remembered” (put back together) by our Lord.
Thanks,
Sam
Sam, thank you so much for those words. To understand that remember is the opposite of dismember is a new idea to me, and so eye-opening!
Hi Joseph, thanks for your comment. I appreciate it. And, of course, while Satan wants to dismember us, God is stronger and he will remember us.
Sam
Brilliant insight! This really helps me grasp the idea of how God restores my connection with himself.
Thanks, Mark