A Life in Exile

When I looked at the verses for this week’s post, I admit, it got me down. After all, we all want to be remembered in some way, right? The world definitely shows us that reality with influencers and names on products, universities, or roadways. People are always looking to make their mark on society or history. Unfortunately, those that are often most remembered are the ones who commit the worst of atrocities, like Hitler, Stalin, Osama bin Laden, and others. Many who commit violence today want to make their names remembered. Satan has a sick way of inserting his accomplishments into our collective memory.

And yet man forgets.

From the least of these to the greatest, we really don’t remember our fellow man. Not only are we quick to forget the great names of history, but we also forget our own family members, friends, and neighbors. Scripture is right on target about this tendency to forget.

We have to start with Job. In his suffering, he bemoaned this fact. Good to know man’s memory was short from the beginning! Not only did he cry over the shortness of the days of a man’s life, but how those left behind will soon forget those they knew.

Remember that my life is but a breath. My eye will never again see anything good. The eye of anyone who looks on me will no longer see me. Your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone. As a cloud fades away and vanishes, so the one who goes down to Sheol will never rise again. He will never return to his house; his hometown will no longer remember him. (Job 7:7-10 CSB, emphasis added)

A person doesn’t have to die to realize this, but just move away or leave a job. As others come in to take your place, you are forgotten.

David, in seeking refuge in the Lord, felt others turn against him and the pain of being forgotten.

I am forgotten: gone from memory like a dead person—like broken pottery. (Psalm 31:12, emphasis added)

Futility in the forgotten place.

The hurt and pain of being forgotten is intense. Solomon, the great, wise King, who was known for his wisdom, recognized the futility of man’s life. Being forgotten was a big part of the picture, and he saw it as one of the most painful realities of mankind. We will all die. We will all be forgotten. What good is this life?

There is no remembrance of those who came before; and of those who will come after there will also be no remembrance by those who follow them. (Ecclesiastes 1:11, emphasis added)

So I said to myself, “What happens to the fool will also happen to me. Why then have I been overly wise?” And I said to myself that this is also futile. For, just like the fool, there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, since in the days to come both will be forgotten. How is it that the wise person dies just like the fool? Therefore, I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind. (Ecclesiastes 2:15-17, emphasis added)

 He even told a short parable about the matter:

I have observed that this also is wisdom under the sun, and it is significant to me: There was a small city with few men in it. A great king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege works against it. Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he delivered the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man. And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.” (Ecclesiastes 9:13-16, emphasis added)

Man forgets—God remembers

If I stopped with these verses on how man forgets man, even I would feel depressed! Yes, there is no guarantee we will be remembered in this world. Who are we, anyway? Who am I that anyone should remember me? And what value comes in being remembered?

Yes, I want my family and grandchildren to remember me fondly. To know that I loved them well, but in the end, even that is a false reality. My children do not remember my parents, nor will my grandchildren be able to remember their own grandfather, since he passed away before their births. If anyone remembers anything about me, I want them to remember that my life pointed to Christ. He’s the only person worth remembering, because his life makes all the difference for our lives.

Yet, though we are forgotten by mankind, we are not forgotten by our Creator. Even Solomon had a hopeful tone at the end of his diatribe on futility. There is only one thing on which mankind should focus: Remembering our Creator in our youth, that we might know him all our days.

But beyond these, my son, be warned: there is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body. When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: fear God and keep his commands, because this is for all humanity. For God will bring every act to judgment, including every hidden thing, whether good or evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:12-14)

Because who remembers us? God.

Moses knew it:

“Be strong and courageous; don’t be terrified or afraid of them. For the Lord your God is the one who will go with you; he will not leave you or abandon you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)

The psalmist knew it:

Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord cares for me. (Psalm 21:10)

And Jesus proclaimed it:

“And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

He who made us, who loves us, who died for us, will return and take us to live with him forever in the new heaven and new earth. Those forgotten relationships will be restored when we meet with all his chosen ones in glory. That’s enough to lift my spirit, and I hope it is for you as well.

Grace and Peace

If you missed the last Friday Focus post, click HERE, or start from the Beginning.