Anniversaries

Blog #66 - Anniversaries

Anniversaries are important! Take it from me, you better not miss one! I believe we all are sentimental people. We want to remember the first time we fell in love, or the last time we saw our loved one. Most anniversaries are meaningful; while others are painful. Some are commemorative; others are better forgotten. But, I believe anniversaries are important to God and should be important to us.

Think fast! What were you doing on July 31, 2004. “Wow,” you say, “I can’t quite remember what I was doing on that day.” I can. At 1:00pm, I was at the front of Deep River Baptist Church waiting on my bride appear from behind the vestibule doors. That was 19 years ago…you better believe I’ve never forgotten that day! May 17,1983? This is the day I accepted Christ as my savior at my house on Laurel Drive in Asheboro. Remembering the exact date, of course, is not important to our faith. I wrote it in my bible for me to remember always.

August 4, 1998 is an additional date we celebrate at our house. On this day, I had my second (and final) brain surgery. This brain surgery certainly changed my life. Most might look back on it with dread, thinking, “Now, that was the worst day of my life!” But, not me. I look back on this day as a day of thankfulness. Often, my wife gets me a small cake, and we celebrate. I always joke, look at my wife, and say, “Without this successful brain surgery, you would be single and you (looking at my daughter) wouldn’t exist!

My favorite anniversary is May 17, 1983. This is the day I accepted Christ as my personal Savior. I clearly remember, Dad, Mom, our pastor, and the revival preacher in the living room of my house. On this day, I asked forgiveness for my sin, and invited Jesus into my heart. A day I will never forget.

Certainly, I would be remiss if I did not include my anniversary at Oakley. On November 3rd, of this year, I will have served as pastor for 6 years! Wow! Time has flown by. I’ve met, ministered, and made eternal friends over this time period! As they say, “Time flies when you’re having fun!”

Though Scripture only sedulity mentions the concept of anniversaries, I believe we should remember and be encouraged by these decisions and dates. As the Israelite people needed encouragement to go and conquer the land, Moses added these words of remembrance. After reminding the Israelites of their past slavery (and what God had delivered them from) with his “mighty hand and with an outstretched arm (Deut. 26:8), He didn’t want the nation to forget about Him. Repeatedly, God reminded the nation of Israel that He was God, they were His people, and were loved tremendously.

In John 15:12-13, when the Believers need to know of God’s love for them, Jesus, once again, reminded them. John writes,”Greater love has no one than this, that to lay down one’s life for his friends.” Over and over, we need to remember today God loves us! Just like our dating or wedding anniversary, we must consistently remember and reflect that God chooses to love us.  Each and every day, He chooses to love us. If you have not accepted this love, allow today to be the day! Make today an anniversary day!

Anniversaries, however, do not always bring joy to our hearts. Anniversaries are sometimes painful. It may be an anniversary of a parent’s or child’s passing, or an anniversary of the beginning of a painful trial. Why does God allow these to perpetuate in our thoughts. I believe it is to instruct, warn, and remember what not to do, as well as what to do. Anniversaries tend to place us back in the moment of the past which may conjure up painful memories. The faithful Believer will, while remembering past failures, be motivated to purse the ways of God, and not the things of man.

Revelation 19:7-9 motivates us to look forward to “be glad and rejoice and give Him glory,” in faith, or the things God is about to do! Let’s not be bound by the past or the memories of past failures. Let us press forward knowing our previous anniversaries, though important, to not control, bind, and in any ways subjugate us to living in that sort of manner. For only when we see him “face to face,” (1 Cor. 13:12, Rev. 22:4) will we know and understand what we lived for (Jesus) was well worth it. Yes, anniversaries, the good and even the bad, are profitable for us as Believers. This is where we find our strength to walk through the painful anniversaries, as well as the better ones yet to come.