There are times when I can be remarkably practised in the art of selective amnesia. It is easy to remember things in the past that were happy or good times or when I did well at something; it is less easy to recall those times when I failed or made a fool of myself. There have been plenty of the latter. How about you?
Jude writes about this same point as he reminds his readers of God’s conduct towards his people historically, and theirs towards him.
Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling – these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
It is good for us to remember that what we call ‘the fall’ was not confined to the sins of human forebears but there are members of the company of heaven also awaiting judgment when the time comes. This is not new news but ancient history; it is good, if sobering for us to remember that we are in a tragic pattern of redemption and reoffending that is as old as the hills, and more.
It is interesting to reflect that what may would be seen as ’immoral’ by one generation is not of concern to another. Times and thinking change but the highs and lows of behaviour when measured against the rules of societal acceptability and conscience of the day are a constant ebb and flow.
If we need to remember the good things of God’s blessings in his original rescue of his people, and to be reminded that mistakes are a universal problem, whatever the language or examples used, so to we need to remember that God’s love for us renews every day and with it our opportunity to confess again our amnesia and seek his strength to learn how to overcome our mistakes.
A Prayer
Loving God, when apparently forget what really we know about all you have done for us, help us stop and think again. May we not turn our backs on your love and grace with hard hearts but rather, open ourselves to the liberation of your deliverance made possible for us through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.