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Whatsoever Things are Just... - July 04, 2007
"Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, 'What do these stones mean to you?' 7then you shall say to them, 'Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off ' So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever." (Joshua 4:6-7)
In light of recent events one has to ask the question, why have we not learned from events like this? Columbine, Waco, Oklahoma City and the like all continue on. Every time we promise to learn something, and every time it seems we fall back into our same complacent selves unwilling and/or unable to reach into our collective consciousness and decide for ourselves to not let these things continue to happen.
I have always liked the way God in the O.T. told leaders such as Moses, Aaron, Joshua and others to build an alter, or build some sort of memorial at every event where God rescued them, where he spoke to them, or where he revealed himself in some manner that was holy and was truly from God.
What if, instead of memorializing massacres year after year after year, we choose to memorialize those things that are great and worthy and just? Lets try and do as David says in the Psalms and "meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds" Psalms 77:12.
I know that the knee jerk reaction will be that we should never forget. I know, and we will not. We will always have someone or something to remind us of the terrible events of mad men and despots. What will take more collective will on the part of the people, Christian or not, is to remember the good things. I suggest that we can all start by:
1) Stop treating days like Memorial day, Martin Luther King day and so on as days to be off work and go to the lake. Lets start taking these days off and spend time remembering that which brought those days to us. The triumph of Martin Luther King, the triumph of good over evil in the world wars and so on. The list goes on and on.
2) Spend July 4th telling your children and family stories about the founding fathers. Tell the story of how they risked it all, life and limb, for the liberties we enjoy now as a society.
3) Start family memorialization days. Set aside a day in your family, maybe one with some signifigance, every year. Use that day to fellowship with your family, teach your family, and to remember your ancestors before you. This is why God wanted Israel to set aside memorial stones. It was so they would remember the goodness of God to them at that time and place. Parents were to teach their children what the memorial was for.
4) Choose to memorialize personal days in your life. Good days, maybe the day you were saved, the day you graduated college, or some other day in your life that bears personal and long lasting signifigance.
Something that the incredible affluence of our western society today has brought with it is a culture that is transient and easily mobile. By that I mean that I am in Colorado Springs, but in a matter of hours I could be in Portland living a new life and growing there. I am not as inclined to stay in the roots that are laid down for me. We have become fiercely individualistic in our culture, and as such have put aside anything the encumbers us. That includes anything of our former lives and upbringing that might "hold us back".
We will never forget such tragic things as this last week. But we can counter them by teaching our children to meditate on what is holy and just and noteworthy. Every time we choose to memorialize the bad things we allow the perpetrators of those crimes to regain a foothold in our mind and heart, a foothold that time can heal if we allow it.
Carl is a freelance writer and seminary student living in Colorado Springs, CO. He currently writes on the blog site Thoughts of a Gyrovague and he can be reached at [email protected]
"Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, 'What do these stones mean to you?' 7then you shall say to them, 'Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off ' So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever." (Joshua 4:6-7)
In light of recent events one has to ask the question, why have we not learned from events like this? Columbine, Waco, Oklahoma City and the like all continue on. Every time we promise to learn something, and every time it seems we fall back into our same complacent selves unwilling and/or unable to reach into our collective consciousness and decide for ourselves to not let these things continue to happen.
I have always liked the way God in the O.T. told leaders such as Moses, Aaron, Joshua and others to build an alter, or build some sort of memorial at every event where God rescued them, where he spoke to them, or where he revealed himself in some manner that was holy and was truly from God.
What if, instead of memorializing massacres year after year after year, we choose to memorialize those things that are great and worthy and just? Lets try and do as David says in the Psalms and "meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds" Psalms 77:12.
I know that the knee jerk reaction will be that we should never forget. I know, and we will not. We will always have someone or something to remind us of the terrible events of mad men and despots. What will take more collective will on the part of the people, Christian or not, is to remember the good things. I suggest that we can all start by:
1) Stop treating days like Memorial day, Martin Luther King day and so on as days to be off work and go to the lake. Lets start taking these days off and spend time remembering that which brought those days to us. The triumph of Martin Luther King, the triumph of good over evil in the world wars and so on. The list goes on and on.
2) Spend July 4th telling your children and family stories about the founding fathers. Tell the story of how they risked it all, life and limb, for the liberties we enjoy now as a society.
3) Start family memorialization days. Set aside a day in your family, maybe one with some signifigance, every year. Use that day to fellowship with your family, teach your family, and to remember your ancestors before you. This is why God wanted Israel to set aside memorial stones. It was so they would remember the goodness of God to them at that time and place. Parents were to teach their children what the memorial was for.
4) Choose to memorialize personal days in your life. Good days, maybe the day you were saved, the day you graduated college, or some other day in your life that bears personal and long lasting signifigance.
Something that the incredible affluence of our western society today has brought with it is a culture that is transient and easily mobile. By that I mean that I am in Colorado Springs, but in a matter of hours I could be in Portland living a new life and growing there. I am not as inclined to stay in the roots that are laid down for me. We have become fiercely individualistic in our culture, and as such have put aside anything the encumbers us. That includes anything of our former lives and upbringing that might "hold us back".
We will never forget such tragic things as this last week. But we can counter them by teaching our children to meditate on what is holy and just and noteworthy. Every time we choose to memorialize the bad things we allow the perpetrators of those crimes to regain a foothold in our mind and heart, a foothold that time can heal if we allow it.
Carl is a freelance writer and seminary student living in Colorado Springs, CO. He currently writes on the blog site Thoughts of a Gyrovague and he can be reached at [email protected]
