So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory…
Summary: Returning to Peter’s words, we are reminded of why we need to be reminded.
In yesterday’s mediation, I went off on a tangent. It is an important tangent, but a tangent nonetheless. Today I would like to turn my pondering to the passage itself.
If we extend our view of this passage to include the first part of verse 13, we gain a bit more context. Peter knows that the people he is writing to know these things, but he is “refreshing” their memory. Why is this important?
Being human means never having to say, “I remember everything that ever happened.” We have selective memory and also a leaky memory. Details fade as quickly as time passes. Certain things we do not want to deal with are shoved into the closet at the back of our minds.
Even with the things we do want to remember, we can only see so many of them at any one time. A project manager on a complicated job might have a spreadsheet with a thousand different parts of the project listed. Can one man keep all of that in mind at the same time? No. That is why we have spreadsheets or other types of project software.
Peter and the other disciples were no different. After Jesus had told them many times that he would have to die, they still did not understand. Even after Jesus himself had risen, their grief overshadowed their minds and memories. Our human minds have limited capacity. Jesus had to work hard to convince the disciples he was still alive. (Luke 24:36-44)
Depending on the translation you use, English Bibles contain over 700,000 words. How do you know which words to focus on? How many of them can you think of at one time? The seven words that Peter has given us to add to our faith are only 0.001 percent of all the words in the Bible, yet they are very important. More to the point, these words do not stand alone. They represent seven themes that are repeated through the Bible over and over again.
So even though the early Christians knew these things, even if they were knowledgeable about the truth of Jesus Christ, they still needed a reminder. It is like when I head out the door to run errands, my wife saying, “Don’t forget the milk!” She does that to remind me. She knows the carton of milk she needs might drop to the bottom of my priority list if she doesn’t. I need the reminder!
When Peter points me to add to my faith goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection, and love (agapē), he is reminding me to put things on the top of my list for the day, every day.
Application: Pay attention to what Peter is telling us.
Food for Thought: Why does Peter need to refresh our memory? Where would our mind go if he did not remind us of these things? (Yes, I changed the question for today. -JE)
I definitely need the reminder.
I find it interesting that we are also told to remember the Lord’s sacrificial death on our behalf through the practice of communion. I would think we would never forget something that important. But yet, we are told to remember this as a church body (1 Corinthians 11: 23 – 26).
Some things are important enough to keep at the forefront of our thoughts. Without the reminder, they may slip from our memory, even if only temporarily. But those temporary lapses can cause huge downfalls.
Thank you, Rich.
I’m glad you reminded me of that! 🙂
With so many distractions, not just in the world, but in our own little corner of the world, it is sad that we need reminders, but we do. It is easy to lose sight of what’s important.
I know, personally, I can be so focused on getting through a particular season I am going through (especially if it’s a difficult season) so I can get to the next season (because after all, the next season has got to be better), that I often miss things. I lose sight on what’s important. I give up on my faith. I lose hope. I lose self-control and decide to play God myself or put God in a box and take Him out when I need Him. I miss the simple things, like looking up at stars, appreciating the flowers, waiting for Him to lead the way, trusting in Him for the answers and casting my cares on Him.
Reminders are not a bad thing. The bible reminds us 365 times to not fear. That’s a reminder for every day of the year. If we did not need to be reminded, would it be in the bible 365 times? There are over 100 bible verses about loving one another. There are over 65 bible verses about casting our worries to him. There are so many reminders in the bible that I think it’s safe to say Jesus knew people were going to need hear things more than just one or two times.
Darla,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts today! I appreciate you mentioning “difficult season(s).” I can relate to that. I also appreciate the reminder that the Bible is always reminding us to trust God. Well said!
09-29-2021, Why does Peter need to refresh our memory? Where would our mind go if he did not remind us of these things?
Our God often tells us to remember!
We are to remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Share the Lord’s supper in remembrance of Jesus Christ, remember how we have provoked the Lord in the past, and remember that Jesus Christ is with us until the end of the age
Exodus 20:8, Luke 22:19, Deuteronomy 9:7, Matthew 28:20.
1. Remembering is an active choice made daily by each of us. Do we chose to remember our past with regrets over poor choices or events we view as unfair. Or do we choose to increase our faith by focusing on remembering how blessed we are to have received eternal life, and His daily guidance through Jesus Christ dwelling in us by the power of the Holy Spirit?
2. Remembering makes us aware of reality. Do we blitz our way thru each day and go to bed asking ourselves where did it go? Or do we wake up in prayer thanking God for another day, another opportunity to serve Him, and to the best of our ability, seek His will over our own. Does remembering what our God has done for us give us strength to serve Him as if it were our last day on this earth. It could be.
3. Remembering gives us hope in this world of increasing darkness. Do we live in His Sovereign “NOW”, knowing He has left us on this earth for His purposes, placed a protective hedge around us and given us the power to be “LIGHT” in the darkness. Do we boldly let Christs light shine, are we attracting the casualties of this chaotic world around us and providing spiritual aid to the injured.
4. Remembering helps us maintain perspective. Remember, our God called each of us “out of this world.” We are each saved sinners who have responded to God’s conviction, repented and turned from our sins to Jesus Christ. We now represent Christ to this world. Our priority is to focus on growing in the Lord and sharing the Gospel with those within our sphere of influence. We have a unique family, and set of friends. We need to focus on Growing in Christ as the appropriate time to minister to those around us now.
Ron,
You make an excellent point: Remembering is an active choice. We have to choose to remember. Being reminded is when someone else points us to something important. Remembering is pointing ourselves there.
Well one thing for sure is that I need to write things down to remember what needs to be done,.. being a contractor things can get a bit spread out,..so writing things down helps me remember
When I was an Awana leader the goal was to reach kids through scripture memory,..so memorizing scripture was required for leaders,..that takes a while,..so many scriptures to memorize,..but by reading and refreshing my memory it made that part easier,..however since Awana was shut down and I had to move on,..I feel the need to be refreshed in scripture,..and that’s a daily process just as sanctification is,…
My mind is forgetful at times,..that’s why I write things down,..another reason Peter may be telling us to refresh our memory because of how forgetful we truly are,..maybe that’s exactly why we have what we have today with scripture,..because God knows how forgetful we truly are and He certainly knows how much we need to keep our minds fresh and focused on the One who gave us these scriptures,..
John,
Thank you for the encouragement to read and memorize scripture. I think that is a very important thing for all believers to be doing.