Remember Not to Forget to Remember

I was taking some garbage to the dump this afternoon. I had taken everything I could think of and loaded it into the back of our vehicle. I left the hatch open as I wanted to check with my wife to see if she could think of anything I had missed. I was talking to her on the phone as I started to back out. Then came the crunching sound. I realized I had left the hatch open when backing out of the garage. I checked the car and it seemed ok. I closed the hatch and that seemed ok. I backed out of the garage and hit the button to close the door. It started down and then went back up. As I took a closer look at the door, one of the guide wheels had popped out. I fixed that, but the door didn’t make a good seal. After closer inspection, I saw that the cable had jumped the pulley. I managed to put that in place and now, praise God, the door works fine again. I knew I had left the hatch open, only because I was waiting to find out if I had everything. I knew what I was meant to do, but in that moment I had forgotten. Fortunately, my foolishness didn’t have eternal consequences, but this may not be true in our spiritual walk with God. There may be extraordinary circumstances that catch me off guard, but the basics need to be second nature. When I sin, I should instinctively confess it to God and repent, that I might be cleansed. When someone sins against me, I need to be willing to forgive that person as well, even if they have done it before. A true confession and repentance should be followed by forgiveness. Other instinctive things are to love one another... not just those among my close friends. I should treat others with respect, whether they are rich or poor, friend or stranger, politically different, or any other division. I believe it was Polycarp in the second century that, when soldiers arrived to have him killed, welcomed them for a meal and treated them as he would a friend. Prayer should flow often and easily. Reading God’s word should be like breathing. Don’t do it out of habit or obligation. The Devil, the world, and our own sinfulness try to make us forget who we are and whose we are. Remember to never forget to remember the basics. Heavenly Father, our burdens aren’t too heavy, our responsibilities not to overwhelming, when we remember You. Amen