The Lord God created humans with a mind that can remember the past. Some things that we remember are pleasant, others are not. Some things we remember, whether we want to or not. There are some matters that we seem to be able to recall without any effort, whereas other affairs we are able to retain in our mind only through great diligence.

The Bible records a number of instances in which God instructed His people to remember something or someone. Let us note and consider some of these.

Remember God Himself – "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth . . ." (Ecclesiastes 12:1, all emphasis in all quotes in this article mine, rdc). While the emphasis in this passage is directed to those that are still in their youth, in principle the Bible teaches the need to remember God throughout our entire lives. God instructed the children of Israel not to forget Him (Deuteronomy 6:12; 8:11), which was another way of saying to remember Him. Let us remember the Lord by remembering His blessings and being grateful for them (James 1:17; Ephesians 1:3). Let us remember Him by putting Him first in our thinking, plans, and lives (Matthew 6:33). The Psalmist wrote, "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God" (Psalm 9:17).

Remember God’s Instructions – "Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments . . . And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them . . . That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God" (Numbers 15:38-40). The specifics of this passage applied to the children of Israel alone. The principle, though, involves the need for God’s people of all ages to constantly think of God’s commands and listen to the message that God gives us in His word. In the New Testament it is written, "But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Jude 17). The context shows that the readers of Jude’s letter were to remember that the apostles had predicted the coming of mockers or false teachers (Jude 18). To remember the words of the apostles is to remember the authority of God that is behind their written and spoken message (Matthew 18:18). To remember God’s instructions means that we will always want to know, "What does God’s law say?"

"Remember Lot’s Wife" – Those exact words of Jesus are recorded in Luke 17:32. We cannot remember her name, because the Bible does not record it. Jesus’ words do serve as a reminder, though, that there is a need for us to study and learn from the message of the Old Testament. For whatever reason(s), Mrs. Lot decided to look back at the city of Sodom, from which she, her husband, and two daughters had escaped. This was a direct violation of a simple command that the Lord’s messengers had given to Lot and his family (Genesis 19:17,26). Whatever her attachment was to Sodom, it caused her to lose her life, left her daughters motherless, left her husband a widower, and left a lesson for all of us to learn: our allegiance to God must take precedence over all else. And, even in the most simple matters, we must obey what God tells us to do.

Remember that Jesus’ followers will suffer. "Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you . . ." (John 15:20). Jesus spoke these words to His apostles on the night of His betrayal. Other statements in the New Testament make it plain that suffering for the Christ is something that every faithful servant of His should expect. "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Timothy 3:12). The early saints rejoiced "that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name" (Acts 5:41). Should we not have the same attitude?

Remember the truth about giving and receiving – ". . . remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35). Paul spoke these words to pastors from Ephesus. They certainly show that God’s people must learn to be unselfish. This is sometimes a difficult lesson for children to learn. Some adults struggle with it also. May we learn from Jesus’ marvelous example the beauty of giving for the good of others. May we all learn the joy of helping others and brightening their day.

Remember the death of Jesus – ". . . the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come" (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). This familiar reference is to what the Bible calls "the Lord’s supper" (11:20). It’s purpose? It is to be a memorial in which Christians soberly remember the death of Jesus. Why did He die? To give Himself as "a ransom for all" (1 Timothy 2:6). How did He die? He was shamefully hung "on a tree" (Acts 5:30) to die through the agonizing, inhumane punishment known as crucifixion. What a blessing it is to be able to gather with other disciples each first day of the week to remember our Savior in this special way that God has provided for us (Acts 20:7).

Remember Jesus’ resurrection – "Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel" (2 Timothy 2:8). To declare that Jesus was "of the seed of David" points to Him as the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies that pointed to the coming Messiah. Matthew 1:1 and Romans 1:3 also show that Jesus was the offspring of David, which the Messiah had to be (2 Samuel 7:12). But what about His resurrection? It proved that Jesus is "the Son of God with power" (Romans 1:4). By His resurrection we are justified (Romans 4:25), and by that same resurrection we have the hope of being raised from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:12-19). The empty tomb of God’s Son sends a message that Satan cannot reverse, overturn, or nullify. Our King lives!

"Remember the poor" – That was the exhortation which Barnabas and Paul received from James, Cephas, and John (Galatians 2:9,10). To "remember" the poor means more than just recognizing that such people exist. It means not to forget about them and their needs. The churches of Christ in Galatia were instructed, "As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith" (Galatians 6:10). Romans 15:25-27 notes a special occasion in which Christians living in various areas sent relief to the poor among the saints that were in Jerusalem.

Remember our past slavery and deliverance – When Jehovah instructed the children of Israel about releasing their servants, He said, "And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee" (Deuteronomy 15:15). In the spiritual realm, God has delivered Christians from the bondage of slavery to sin (Romans 6:17,18). Thanks be to God for His power and willingness to deliver us! May we always be grateful for all that the Lord has done and continues to do for us. May we never forget the meaning of our redemption and the price that was paid to obtain it (2 Peter 1:9).

If God says that something or someone is worth remembering, that ought to get our attention. Let us all give heed to God’s instruction to "remember." The matters that we have considered in this article are not one-time acts, but rather require an ongoing state of mind. Remember that.