Remember to Remember

I like to remember the thing inside my head that, though it remain hidden for a while, has its appointment to surface, like some prolonged bud on a orchid reluctant to give up its flower. My skull, too, is patiently waiting, but it has its appointed time.

This leads me to wonder at my wait and how it is I manage to waste it by not glorifying God, who made me and is worthy of my fielty. What day doesn’t go by, not in a crisis of faith, but in a crisis of faithfulness?

Spener, in 1675, saw for the church the remedy for the illness that bears upon me:

Thought should be given to a more extensive use of the Word of God among us. We know that by nature we have no good in us. If there is to be any good in us, it must be brought about by God. To this end the Word of God is the powerful means, since faith must be enkindled through the gospel, and the law provides the rules for good works and many wonderful impulses to attain them.

How beautiful is the thought, to be given the “many wonderful impulses” to serve God in spirit and truth. The memento mori drives me to the Bible every time. And, like the medieval monk, I would have one on my desk, even one in every room, because sometimes the one inside my head, being hidden for now, is easily forgotten.