Make More Memorials

I remember backpacking through the beauty of Montana, watching mountaintops and clear watered lakes and trying to piece together the creation of the world. Through my gazing I wondered how it all was made, how science could predict something so majestic, and how -even in my doubting - I recognized that someone must have created it. It was there when this verse came alive: “God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.” (Romans 1:20)

What was so special about seeing the mountains was seeing the God who made them. It was in the mountains, as a confused, 19 year old, where I met God. Today the mountains serve as a memorial for what God has done in my life, and the beginning of my faith. It is the same for most of us, too, but we often don’t take the time to notice what brings us that significant memory or nostalgia we enjoy. Consider one practice of the priests of Israel hundreds of years ago:

“Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of decision as a continuing memorial before the Lord.” (Exodus. 28:29)

Throughout the Old Testament there is a theme of God giving us memorials – milestones if you will – that represent a piece of the Lord and what he’s done for us. These memorials serve as symbols of strength, that through journeys of struggle we made it through to another day. As the scripture states, they are “continuing memorials,” because they continue to be of significance. We all have symbols, places, and objects that point us to something more important the memorial itself. Through these we should not think of them as trivial, but as significant memorials that God has created for us to remember him, celebrate him, and journey with him.