Never Forget... But Remember...

September 11, 2001. It's been twelve years since the tragedy of 9/11 occurred, but it remains etched in our
collective memories, a date that lives in infamy in the hearts and minds of my countrymen. A date that means much to us, but even more to the families of those whose lives were cut brutally short by the zealotry of fanatics.

"Never forget." The admonition is plastered on posters, on t-shirts, and online. Never forget what happened. Never forget what we lost. As a nation that has been in war or on the brink of one ever since those events, indeed "forgetting" is nearly impossible. But the call remains: never forget. Never forget the men and women who died simply for showing up to work that day, or just for being on the wrong plane. Never forget the religious fanaticism which fuels the sort of hatred that allows a man to murder thousands of people he's never met, even when it means dying in the process.

Never forget the horror of it, lest we be tempted to our own self-righteous wrath.

But in the midst of remembering national tragedy, in the seeming flood of awful event and awful event that seems to occupy the headlines, remember, too, that there is hope.

I will never forget this awful time,
    as I grieve over my loss.
Yet I still dare to hope
    when I remember this:

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
    His mercies never cease.

Great is his faithfulness;
    his mercies begin afresh each morning.
(Lamentations 3:20-23)

That Man has made a mess of things is the understatement of eternity... but the God of all Creation loves us with an unending love. He shows us a mercy that never fails. The world around us broils in wrath and war and godlessness. But in Him, we find peace. 

The words of Christ, in Matthew 11:28-29

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 

I'd Rather Be Burdened With Christ

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:28-29)

It can be so easy to get caught up in the do's and don't's of Christianity some times. Sadly, this is as much true for believers as it is for non-believers, who see this whole church thing as nothing more than a big set of rules to follow. How easily we miss the point!

The real truth is, Sin, and not faith, is our burden. It's hard to see when we're drenched in wrongdoing, but the stuff, the muck, that weighs us down is nothing more or less than our own human nature. We are burdened by this world; dragged down by our sin, and the sins of this world. 

The truth of Jesus is that He came, not to burden us with religion, but to release us from the bondage of sin. Once we acknowledge that there really is a right and a wrong, and that we have been on the wrong side of it, we can lift that burden to Christ.

I've often wondered what was meant when He said "my yoke is light." I've begun to realize the reason His yoke is so much easier than the one we carry without Him is that He does most of the heavy lifting.