Evotional.com - Mark Batterson

I was recently reading the parable of the unforgiving debtor. His master forgives a huge debt. And a matter of minutes later, he is unwilling to forgive a small debt that someone owes him. What is striking to me is the short lapse of time. And what it reveals is this. What God did for him never made the transition from short-term memory into long-term memory. And the lesson was lost on him. He didn't connect-the-dots. The problem? An unsanctified memory.

Here is one of our fundamental spiritual problems: we tend to remember what we should forget and forget what we should remember. And our lack of memory leads to bad behavior. In the case of the unforgiving debtor? He forgot God's grace so he acted ungracefully.

I think a lot of us are like that. We never internalize or personalize the lessons God is trying to teach us. The truth gets into our short-term memory. But it doesn't make it into our long-term memory. So we have to relearn the same lesson all over again. We've been following Christ for seventeen years, but we don't have seventeen years of experience. We have one year of experience repeated seventeen times.

I know I'm always talking about doing ministry out of imagination versus memory out of ministry. We can't afford to repeat the past. We need to create the future. But that doesn't mean the memory is less important than imagination. If we couldn't remember we wouldn't even be able to imagine. Imagination is a function of memory. And one of my core convictions as a communicator is this: the most important truths ought to be communicated in the most memorable ways. For the record, that requires imagination. So maybe memory is a function of imagination too.

Without memory we'd have to learn everything all over again everyday. Can you imagine? The memory enables us to pick up where we left off. Spiritually speaking, a sanctified memory remembers what God doesn't want us to forget. That is why we need to share our testimony over and over again. It keeps that memory alive. That is why we need to build altars. It keeps the memory alive. That is why we celebrate communion isn't it? Do this "in remembrance" of me. It keeps the memory alive.

C.S. Lewis said, "We need to be reminded more than instructed." So true. And that is one role of the Holy Spirit. He jogs our memories. Check out John 14:26: "He will teach you everything and remind you of everything." He reminds us of what we need to know when we need to know it. He helps us connect-the-dots. He sanctifies our memories.

I was at a Borders bookstore yesterday and I spotted a book about Chuck Norris at the checkout counter. My synapses started firing and the next thing I knew I was on the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach, DE, on vacation. That's where I saw my first Chuck Norris t-shirt with Chuck Norris facts. It was like a short mental vacation.

So what? Well, that is how the Holy Spirit works. He helps our synapses fire in old ways. That's called a sanctified memory. He helps our synapses fire in new ways. That's called a sanctified imagination. Simply put: he triggers memories and ideas.

For the record, Chuck Norris may have counted to infinity...twice...and won a game of Connect Four in three moves. But the Holy Spirit invented infinity. And He can win with one move! Take that, Chuck Norris!