Knowing GodSample

Do Not Forget the History of God’s Love!
by Rev. Patrick Feldhus

George Santayana is popularly known for the saying, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” I cannot help but think about the history of God’s chosen people, Israel. How often did they promise to follow the Lord only to reject him? Over and over, God warned his people about rejecting him and his law, but they continued to do it. Paul reminds us that we have Israel as an example of what not to do.

Yet, like Israel, we make promises to God only to do the opposite. We have failed to learn from the mistakes of God’s people in the past and are doomed to repeat them. As much as the people of Israel rejected God’s ways for their own, God still fulfilled his promise to send his Son. Israel’s history is the history of God’s love toward sinners.

What can we learn from this history? As many times as we have sinned against the Lord, Jesus is still our Savior. God’s love is never exhausted! He wants us to learn the hard lessons of rejecting his ways, but he never wants us to forget what he chose to do by sending his Son into this world. His rejection, suffering, and death open the door to heaven for us. God’s love will always remain, because God is determined to rescue the lost! This is the history we never want to forget.

Prayer: Dear heavenly Father! Help us learn from the past so that we can be confident of your love for us through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord! In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.