Too often, we suffer from spiritual goldfish syndrome. We live as if we have forgotten that we have received the best news ever! We muddle through a mundane day, forgetting that we are children of the Most High God who has adopted us into his family and promises to give us an eternity with him in glory! For the Christian, life is not a series of pointless days stretching into a meaningless existence. For the Christian, life is rapidly progressing towards God’s purposes and each day is therefore to be used for his glory! But it is so easy to forget all this and slip back into neutral. It’s so easy to get sucked into the minutiae of life, to be distracted by the fleeting, unimportant things of life, and to grow desensitized to the greatness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The solution to this problem is the practice of remembering.

Every day, take a minute to remember the gospel. Remind yourself every day of the truth about who you are and whose you are. Remind yourself that God saved you, not because he was impressed with your spiritual resume, but because in his mercy and kindness he offered his Son as a sacrifice for our sins, to pay our immense debt, so that we could be saved through faith in him. Remind yourself that because God saved you through the death of his son, you belong to him. Your life is not to be used for your own will and desires but is to be lived for the will of God (1 Peter 4:1-3). Remind yourself that God is always faithful, and he will not fail on his promises. Remind yourself that death is not the end of your existence and that you will live for eternity after death. Remind yourself that because you are in Christ, you are delivered from God’s wrath against sin, that you are washed, sanctified, and justified. 

Paul told the Ephesians to remember their condition apart from Christ in order to appreciate the good news of Jesus Christ. “Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called ‘the uncircumcision’ by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:11-13). This was their story; this is our story. Without Christ we are separated from Christ, without hope and without God. Never forget where you came from. Never forget what God rescued you from. Never forget how much God has done for you. Never forget that God loves you and sent his Son to die for you and gave you his Spirit to strengthen you. Remember the best news ever—Jesus Christ our Lord!