There’s a simple word that carries surprising weight in the Christian life: remember.
It shows up in moments when God urges His people to pause, look back, and let the truth reshape their hearts. One of the clearest examples is in 1 Corinthians 11, where believers are told to remember the body and blood of Jesus—His sacrifice, His resurrection, and His promised return.
What’s striking is that when Jesus first spoke these words to His disciples, none of those events had even happened yet. The scourging, the cross, the empty tomb—these were still future realities. Yet Jesus wanted His followers to carry them in their hearts as if they had already taken place. He was preparing them to understand the depth of His love when they would soon watch it unfold with their own eyes.
That same call to remember still rests on us today.
Memory That Shapes Faith
To remember means to bring something back to the front of our minds—to place it where it can influence us again. When we remember the cross, we’re not simply revisiting a fact from Christian history. We’re grounding our lives in something deeply personal and profoundly important.
Most people know what it feels like to reflect on meaningful moments:
• the day they bought their first home,
• the moment they met their spouse,
• the birth of a child,
• a turning point that changed everything.
These memories feel vivid because they shaped us.
In the same way, the death and resurrection of Jesus should hold a place of unmatched importance in our memory. It is the moment that redefined our eternity.
The Problem of Selective Memory
Unfortunately, we all struggle with a form of selective memory. We remember what we want to remember and conveniently forget what we don’t.
Spiritually speaking, this can be dangerous.
The world—and the enemy of our souls—would love for us to forget the things God commands us to hold tightly:
- the cross
- forgiveness
- grace
- Jesus’ return
- the assurance that we are loved, redeemed, and secure
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Instead, our enemy tries to keep our failures vivid and our past mistakes freshly painted in our minds. He wants us to remember the very things God has already forgiven and forgotten.
But God calls us to a different kind of remembering—one that anchors us in truth rather than regret.
Looking Back on God’s Faithfulness
Scripture is full of moments where God tells His people not to forget what He has done.
Israel had its own memory problems. After the Red Sea split before their eyes, they eventually forgot. After manna fell from heaven and quail covered the camp, they forgot. After water poured from a rock in the wilderness, they forgot.
So God kept reminding them.
And when Jesus gathered His disciples in the upper room, He reached back into Israel’s story again—specifically the Passover. As judgment passed through Egypt, the blood on the doorposts protected every home that trusted God’s promise. It was a picture pointing toward a greater deliverance still to come.
That night, Jesus wanted His followers to see that He was now the Passover Lamb. His blood would cause judgment to pass over everyone who trusted in Him. His broken body would open the way to life. This was not merely history; it was the heart of the gospel.
And He told them—and us—remember this.
Why Remembering Still Matters Today
Followers of Jesus continue to remember because:
1. We easily forget
Life gets crowded—family, work, schedules, responsibilities. It’s not difficult for spiritual truths to get buried under the noise. Remembering intentionally pulls them back to the surface.
2. It’s personal.
No one else can believe for you. No one else can receive Christ on your behalf. Every Christian should have a moment they can look back on and say, “That’s when Jesus became my Savior.” Remembering the cross reminds us that salvation is not mechanical or ritual—it’s deeply personal.
3. It calls us to examine our lives.
Remembering isn’t passive. It invites us to look inward. Are we walking with God? Are we harboring sin, withholding forgiveness, or drifting spiritually? Remembering Christ’s sacrifice leads us to honest reflection—and honest steps forward.
Choosing What to Remember
Every believer must make a decision:
Will I allow my mind to drift toward the things God has already redeemed me from?
Or will I intentionally remember the things Christ has done to set me free?
Jesus’ sacrifice, His forgiveness, His resurrection, and His return aren’t just theological checkpoints—they are life-shaping realities meant to be brought to mind again and again.
Remembering keeps gratitude alive.
It strengthens faith.
It pulls us out of regret and into grace.
It reminds us that spiritual death has passed over us because the blood of Jesus has been applied to our lives.
It reminds us who we are—and whose we are.
