Celebrate and Remember
by Rodney Arnold, Missionary Church President
My three kids never had the chance to meet my grandmother and grandfather who raised me in my earliest childhood years. Yet at times I hear them talk about “Nanny and Papaw” as if they knew them all along!
As I thought about this, I realized it’s because of how much they have heard and even seen about my grandparents. There’s a photo of their house in our basement with the words, “The house that built me.” When we have visited the mountains of Virginia to visit family, I have taken my kids to see this house where my dad (their grandfather) and I were raised. When I cook biscuits and chocolate syrup (what some would call chocolate gravy), my kids know that it is Nanny’s special recipe that she cooked every morning for me. When we visit the church I grew up in, they know the pew my grandparents sat in every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night.
But those memories speak to much more than a house and good Southern food. They speak to the impact that was made by a praying grandmother who invested in me in the ways that matter most – spiritually. Those things serve as monuments of sorts that remind of God’s provision in my life that now impacts a new generation.
As I attended the 15-year anniversary service of my church in Tennessee this past Sunday, I was reminded that these types of remembrances are a common occurrence in the story of God and His people, and they seem to be important to the heart of God.
When Moses and the Israelites defeated the Amalakites, Moses built the altar of Jehovah Nissi, a mound made of stones designed to be a type of monument to the Lord and for the people to remember what happened at that place. The name given to this altar has multiple meanings with each having significance to this moment in history, including God’s presence and protection as well as His victory and triumph.
Then when Joshua, Moses’ successor, crossed the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land after another miraculous display of God’s protection and triumph, God told Joshua to build an altar there. What I love about this story is why Joshua told the Israelites they were building the altar. It was “to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them (what God did!) These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever” (Joshua 4:6-7).
God didn’t want His people to forget what He did. More than that, He wanted future generations to know, too.
There would be more altars built after milestone events in the life of God’s people. Each time the purpose seems to be similar—to celebrate and remember the work of God for generations to come.
This principle is one that would serve us well to follow today. God’s Word makes no secret about the fact that the effects of sin in this fallen world will continue to plague humanity until Jesus returns. Peter may have said it best when he said, “don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through” (1 Peter 4:12).
When those fiery trials come, what “altars” have you built that will anchor you in those moments? What have you taken time to celebrate when God has worked miraculously in your life so that you can remember His presence, protection, victory, and triumph in those moments? What stories are you telling your children so that they know about God’s hand in your life?
The empty tomb serves as the most incredible altar of all. It was there that our Savior’s ultimate protection was put on display and His greatest victory and triumph were made known. It is that reminder that should sustain us when storms of uncertainty surround us and when the enemy seems to be gaining ground.
I am thankful that my kids hear of the story of God’s provision in my life by those “monuments” that are still present today. And I am even more thankful that I have plenty of opportunities to celebrate God’s miraculous work and to remember them when my faith is being tested.
What are your altars? What do you need to take time today to celebrate and remember God’s faithfulness for you? What are the stories of God’s faithfulness that need to be shared?
