A Reminder to Remember

Author: Dr. Guy Jackson
October 07, 2022

My wife and I were blessed to have a very special courtship and romance as we were falling in love. We both had recently gone through a time of tremendous loss, suffering, and heartache. It was almost like God was watching from heaven and said, "OK, these two kids have had enough! I'm going to bless 'em real good." And then He brought us together in the most miraculous, healing way.

As we were dating and falling in love, we often wrote love letters and cards with poems to each other. I still have many of those letters and cards and will stumble upon them from time to time when I open a drawer. 

Often, I read back through many of them and remember. I read them slowly, thoughtfully, and savor the memories. It is like I am right back there again over twenty years ago, as if it is happening all over again right now. It stirs up the memories and emotions of how we were getting to know each other and, in the process, slowly offering ourselves to each other more and more as it felt safer and safer to do so. And it confirms that our love has only grown deeper, more intense, and more precious with the passing years.

It's a good reminder that it's good to read in order to remember.

Did you know we are instructed to read the Bible in the same way for the same reason? Revelation 1:3 says, "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it…". 

The Bible is God's love letter to us.

The Greek word for "reads" in this passage means "to know again." But it is not talking about just information or mental awareness, or mere rote knowledge. It is not referring to just Bible knowledge, facts, or trivia. Instead, it is a word that means intimate, experiential, and relational knowledge. We are being encouraged to read the Bible "to know God again," personally, intimately. It is the same word Paul used in Phil. 3:10 when he said his goal in life was "…that I may know Him." 

 It can be said that the Bible is God's love letter to us, and it should be read that way. The Lord desires an intimate love relationship with us. Each time we come to this book to read it, the Lord re-offers Himself to us. He gives Himself away every time we read the Bible with a receptive heart. And it is like we are getting to know Him all over again, personally, intimately, relationally.

But sometimes, we need to be reminded to do this. We need a reminder to read to remember. The Apostle Peter knew this and was led by the Holy Spirit to write reminders to be read by believers so they would remember.

Sometimes we can fall into the trap of thinking, "I already know that."

In 2 Peter 1:12-13, he states, "Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you. I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder." Peter knew sometimes we can fall into the trap of thinking, "I already know that. I've read that before. I've studied that passage before. I've been a Christian for a long time. I've read the Bible." This can be a grave mistake. Just knowing information once before is not what we need. We need to be continually renewed in our love for the Lord, our relational knowledge of Him.

In 2 Peter 3:1, he says, "This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles." Here, the word "remember" means to "actively remember"—to be intentional, not merely by accident or when we just happen to open a drawer and find a Bible in it.

Reading God's love letter should be planned for with regularity, intentionality, and great anticipation.

Reading and re-reading God's love letter must not be just occasional or by accident. It should be planned for with regularity, intentionality, and great anticipation. And that is why we here at WORDview Ministries have developed the WORDview Method of daily, devotional reading through the scripture. It is why we offer WORDview groups both online and on ground. It is why we publish reading plans and Parallel Bible Journals. And it is why we offer training and many resources through our website. Our passion is to encourage others to read God's love letter, the Bible, to cultivate a thrilling, life-changing relationship with Him.

Will you join us in this passion? Will you read God's love letter with us? Will you consider supporting our ministry? "Blessed is he who reads…"

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