Remember Me For Good

Remember me, O my God, for good.
Nehemiah 13:31b

The cycle of sin and salvation has been turning, turning since that first forbidden fruit. Humans bask in God’s presence, then forget its sweetness and, in our desire to make ourselves God, get what we deserve. We eat the fruit of our bent will and then cry out at the inevitable abdominal pain. God allows the bite and the pain, but relents in His infinite pity, remembers His covenantal people, and sends us salvation preserving a remnant for Himself. We renew our commitments and taste again the sweetness of His very flesh. That is until the taste becomes too familiar and the cycle turns again as certain as the seasons.

An all-knowing God cannot forget. Then what is this hinge of His remembering? Do we need to help God keep a checklist of all our good deeds to ensure they’re properly accounted for when we meet Him face to face? Can one good act – or one sin – be lost in the innumerable details it takes to sustain a universe over all time?

For God to remember, is for God to act. For His people, God’s remembering is an act of salvation. For His enemies, it is an act of condemnation and anger. What God is remembering is His covenant. In Christ we know that salvation was accomplished in His work on the cross, a completion of the covenant on our behalf. One act. One moment in time. Yet in our lives, that moment relives again and again, peeling back, burning away, threshing out as we’re drawn deeper into our savior.

At first glance, Nehemiah’s prayer for remembrance seems like a plea to Santa Claus listing his good deeds for reckoning day. But He is not asking God to stow away knowledge for the final day. He is asking God to remember, to act now – to judge those who oppress and deceive His people, to preserve those seek God, and to work in Nehemiah’s life that constant momentum of salvation purifying his terrifying acts of people building and people cleansing for God’s kingdom and glory. It is a cry for help genuine in his desire to please God above humanity or self; a longing to hear the Lord declare that greatest of praise for His followers, “Well done, my good and faithful servant!”.

As we turn our minds away from the work in Uganda, extricating ourselves from responsibilities, decisions, stuff I’m tempted to lose my footing. Tempted to lose my direction and concept of identity. Tempted to fear for those we leave behind. Tempted to feel useless and irrelevant. Tempted to think that work, production, and relevancy are my identity. Nehemiah’s prayer reminds me of an abiding truth in the life of a Christian. I live to please God and God alone. The desire to please Him is innocent and sanctified. I cannot please Him on my own. It is my vocation and it will go with me wherever I lay my head or step my feet. It doesn’t stop when we leave the mission field, just as He doesn’t leave me.

Lord, help me to please you. Remember me, O my God, for good.