Because God Remembers and Forgets, We Are Blessed Psalm 115:12-15; Genesis 17:1–7, 15–16; Romans 5:1–11; Mark 8:27–38

Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who remembers His promises, and forgets our sins.

Our message is from our introit, Psalm 115, Remember Your mercy, O Lord, and Your steadfast love, for they are from of old. The Lord has remembered us; He will bless us. He will bless those who fear the Lord, both the small and the great. 

Because our God is good at remembering, and good at forgetting, we are blessed. We have a God who remembers what should be remembered, and forgets, what should be forgotten.

There are some things that are good to remember, and other things that are good to forget. God helps us to be better at remembering the things that are good to remember, and better at forgetting the things that are good for us to forget. 

There are things that are a blessing to forget, like past hurts and mistakes; and things that are irritating to forget: little things like where your keys are; or, did I remember to lock the front door, or did I remember to shut the garage door; or did I already take my medicine tonight?

Or worse yet, forgetting your anniversary… While it’s not good to forget your anniversary, there’s a kind of forgetting that’s even worse. Like the kind that goes with progressive dementia, when you get to the point where you can’t remember how walk or talk, or do basic life skills. 

But worse than forgetting with your mind, is forgetting with your heart, when you forget to believe and love. The most tragic forgetting is the loss of faith in Christ; when you forget what you’ve learned and believed about God and His Word, and you live as if you don’t know Christ, as if you have no connection to Him, that’s a tragic forgetting, with tragic consequences. 

Or when you forget that you’re loved and forgiven by God; or when you forget that you’re called to love and forgive others, because you’re a loved and forgiven person.

Or when guilt overwhelms you, and you forget that, for His Son’s sake, God has completely forgiven and totally forgotten your wrong-doing.

Or when times get tough, and you forget God’s promise to always be with you and help and bless you in all circumstances, at all times.

How blessed you are when you repent and remember that God has forgotten your sins forever, never to remember them again, for as long as you put your faith and hope in Christ.

In the Small Catechism, the close of the commandments, taken from Exodus 20:5-6, God reminds us: “I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.”.

This is meant to make us aware of the consequences or our stubborn refusal to repent and believe; it impacts far more than just us individually. 

When we forget to include God and His Word in our lives, and fail to teach His Law and Gospel to our children, then it’s likely our children will fail to teach it to their children, and on and on, and God and His blessings can be lost for generations. 

What a tragic kind of forgetting that is. God and His love, absent from their lives now, and absent from their lives for eternity. How heart-breaking to even think of that possibility. 

But how comforting to know how richly God promises to bless those who remember Him and His mercy, who trust and obey Him, who teach His Word to their children, and their children to their children, and on and on for all generations to come, so that God and His truth are never forgotten, that the chain of faith from generation to generation is never broken.

When that unbroken chain of faith remains, how richly blessed are all the generations.

But if even one generation breaks that chain, and faith is lost, how tragic it is, and how difficult it is to find faith again. The good news is that with God, all things are possible. 

Although the pressure to become secular and lose faith is great in our present day culture, let us not be the generation to forget God and fail to pass on His Word to the generations who will follow us, and will desperately need God and His many blessings, just as we do. 

In our Old Testament lesson, God promised Abraham that He abundant blessings in store for Him and His family, for generations to come. God promised Abraham, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.  5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, (meaning father) but your name shall be Abraham (meaning exalted father) for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 

That’s ultimately Christ, the king of kings. And the Church, which includes people from all nations. 

And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, (meaning princess) but Sarah (distinguished princess) shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her (Isaac). I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”

This is a promise God never forgot, and that Abraham and Sarah never forgot, and for us to never forget. Because from this promise, the Messiah was born, and salvation and many blessings came to us.

The promise of God’s blessings lives on for those who don’t forget, but always believe and remember. 

But for those who forget, who fall away, who become distracted by worldly concerns and misled by false promises, this great blessing is lost.

In our Gospel, Jesus warns us about the danger of forgetting God’s Kingdom, and putting our hope in worldly things instead. 

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 

Let us denounce selfish motives and aspirations, let go of them, forget about them. They have no true and lasting value. Let us devote ourselves to Kingdom goals, and Kingdom living. Let us always remember that our life is in and for Christ.

Our Epistle promises us that this Gospel hope will never put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Remembering God’s promises, let us forget about godless, worldly aspirations, any goals or hopes or dreams or achievements that don’t include Christ in our lives. Let us keep Him front and center in all we are and do.

May our God, who is so good at forgetting what should be forgotten, namely our sins and short-comings, and perfect at remembering what should be remembered, His great love and abundant blessings for us, may He help us to forget about chasing after vain goals and worldly rewards, and remember the promise we’ve been given of a Kingdom of love and glory that never ends, where we are forever blessed. 

Let us forget about and move on from the worldliness that is sure to fail us, and let us remember and move forward with God’s promises in Christ, which are sure to bless us. 

And as you remember and serve your gracious God, His peace, which passes understanding, will guard your heart and mind, in Christ Jesus our Lord, who never forgets His love for us. Amen.