Title: The God of Encouragement!
A God of encouragement!
Humans have a memory instinct to want to be remembered by someone. I am very happy when I can confirm that people remember my existence, but on the other hand, I cannot hide my disappointment and emptiness when I do not remember and respond “who is it”. So, isn't there a saying, 'It's not a pain not to be loved, it's a heartache to be forgotten'? Being a limited being who lives a short life and having an instinct to want to be remembered for a long time may be seen as greed, but we still take pictures to make our memories last longer, write an autobiography to be read, and just before death. He is trying hard to remember and cherish him for a long time, making him remember him even by leaving a will and keeping the date even after he died.
What is history? It can be defined as memory. In other words, it brings back old memories and sets the direction for today's life. However, it is not an easy matter to live a life that is recorded in history and remains in people's memory for a long time. Perhaps our lives are beings who live each day with the goal of living a life that leaves a mark on this earth.
An American oil refining entrepreneur made a political donation of $300,000 over a five-minute cup of coffee with presidential candidate Bill Clinton. Later, when this became an issue, a hearing was held, and when lawmakers questioned, 'Why did you put out such a large sum?', the businessman said, "I just wanted him to remember me after he became president." will be Is this a free gift? It expresses the instinctive desire to be remembered by the president before questioning whether it is not?
It is a joy to be remembered by people like this, but how heartbreaking is it to be remembered by God? At the time of Jesus, there were people who prophesied in the name of Jesus, cast out demons, and performed many powers. They were sure that Jesus would remember their deeds and names. However, Jesus makes a shocking statement that says, 'Not all who say to me, Lord, Lord, are saved'.
Rather, Jesus defined their actions as doing lawlessness, and thus concluded that God did not remember them. Then, Jesus revealed that only “those who do the will of God” can be remembered by God. And he said, “Do not rejoice that the demons surrender to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). In other words, he said that the faith that is remembered by God is the most blessed faith.
People also feel sad that they are being forgotten, but God is also saddened by people being forgotten. Before Jesus was crucified, as he was being tried in the courtyard of the high priest Caiaphas' house, Peter watched the scene from afar. At that time, a messenger cried out to Peter, 'This man was with Jesus of Nazareth,' and "Peter took an oath and denied it, saying, "I do not know the man." (Matthew 26:72) I said I don't remember very well. He followed me closely for three years and boasted that he was a disciple, but at the crucial moment, he couldn't remember Jesus very well. Perhaps Jesus was more heartbroken when Peter said, “I don’t remember him well,” about Jesus rather than the pain of carrying the cross.
The Israelites, who had been enslaved for 400 years in Egypt, completely forgot about the existence of God, whether it was because their living environment was difficult or because they were preoccupied with living in pagan culture and idolatry. Despite being abused (Exodus 1:12), tormented (Exodus 1:14), and tormented (Exodus 2:11), the Israelites lived without crying out to God, that is, praying. To that extent, the Israelites had already forgotten the existence of God. Because they did not seek God and pray, God no longer thought of the people of Israel, so they became forgotten.
However, in today's text, "the children of Israel groaned and cried out because of their torment" (Exodus 2:23), and for the first time in 400 years (though it may not be the first time, according to the Bible...) showing what it is We can interpret 'crying' as 'praying', in the words, "The voice of the cry came up to God because of his torment" (Exodus 2:23).