The Forgotten!
June 11, 2020
The Forgotten!
It is easy to forget. And, it is easy to feel forgotten.
Unless the fear or the sadness or the anger goes soul-deep, it is easy to forget. Unless the joy or the victory or the blessing goes sky-high, it is easy to forget.
I fear that in a few months most of us will not remember George Floyd. But, there is something I fear even more. I fear that by the time Husker football starts up in September that most of us will forget that racism killed George and is still killing the hope and the heart of people who are black in America.
It is easy to forget. And, it is easy to feel forgotten.
Do you remember Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Carol Denise McNair? Probably not. Unfortunately, Addie age 14, Cynthia age 14, Carole age 14, and Carol age 11 have been forgotten by most.
Four young black girls were getting ready for worship at 16th Street Baptist Church on the morning of Sunday, September 15, 1963 when a bomb exploded and killed them. The bomb was planted by four white men who were unashamedly racist.
It is easy to forget. And, it is easy to feel forgotten.
When I sat in the pews of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama about thirteen years ago, I prayed and I cried. Jesus was breaking my heart for something that had happened over 40 years earlier…and was still happening where I lived.
As I left the church that day, the tears would not stop. Every time I remembered, I cried. While I write these words, the tears are trickling down my cheeks. Jesus is still breaking me!
It is easy to forget. And, it is easy to feel forgotten.
Before that day, I did not know that racism had murdered Addie, Cynthia, Carole, and Carol. But while I sat in the church that day, I made a choice to not forget that racism destroys love and hope and peace in the victims and in the perpetrators.
I made a promise to myself and to Jesus that I would not forget that four young girls died while getting ready to worship Jesus because their skin color was black. I vowed that I would not forget that racism destroys everything for which Jesus lived and died and was raised up. And yet, there are still so many who feel forgotten.
It is easy to forget. And, it is easy to feel forgotten.
In ancient times, the Hebrew people believed there was something worse than death; it was to be forgotten! So, they remembered and retold the story of Abraham and Sarah over and over and over again.
Abraham and Sarah were in their 90’s and had no children. One of their greatest fears was that when they died they would have no children or grandchildren to remember them. Abraham and Sarah were afraid that they would be forgotten.
It is easy to forget. And, it is easy to feel forgotten.
In her song, “Rescue”, Lauren Daigle describes what it is like to feel forgotten and what it means when we forget one another. The song is written from the perspective of Jesus speaking to you and me. Lauren writes;
“You are not hidden
There’s never been a moment
You were forgotten
You are not hopeless
Though you have been broken
Your innocence stolen
I hear you whisper underneath your breath
I hear your SOS, your SOS
I will send out an army to find you
In the middle of the darkest night
It’s true, I will rescue you”
(Songwriters: Jason Ingram/Paul Mabury/Lauren Daigle, “Rescue” lyrics © Capital Christian Music Group)
Even when you feel most forgotten, most alone, and most hopeless, Jesus has not forgotten you. When our nation and world have lost our way, when so many are so broken, when all we can do is whisper our cries for help, Jesus has not forgotten us.
I don’t have lots of answers to the racism wrecking our hearts and our lives. But, I take delight in knowing that even when other people forget, Jesus never forgets. Remember four young black girls who died in Birmingham. Remember George Floyd who died in Minneapolis.
Remember the moment when you felt most alone, most misunderstood, most hurt and Jesus sent an army of angels to rescue you. Then, take delight in the Lord even when the tears are still flowing down your cheeks. Jesus is with us to rescue us…every one of us.
Take Delight In The Lord!
Doug
Take Delight 