Author: Paul Nordman

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More than Memories

“The hardest lessons in life are always the best lessons in life” — such has been my experience and hence my mantra for quite some time. Tough lessons just “stick” better. I remember as a boy my irresponsibility in not taking care of gifts some relatives had passed along to me, or being slow in returning items I’d borrowed from others. In college, a classmate rightly “told me off” for not shouldering my load of a class project we shared. She needed to speak her mind, and I needed to hear it. By God’s grace, I have since overcome this character flaw, largely because I remember not only my shortcomings, but more so the disappointment I saw in others and felt inside.

Similarly, the Jewish concept of “remember” reaches beyond simply bearing in mind events from the past; it extracts meaning from them and absorbs them into our thoughts, shaping our current actions and future aspirations. As His people journeyed toward the promised land, for instance, God instructed them, “You shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness. . . .And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, . . . that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”1 Henceforth, the recollection of the people’s suffering and God’s provision would declare this higher meaning: We live by God’s Word. Paul likewise warns that God’s judgment of the Hebrew people during their wilderness wanderings serves a timeless purpose to all believers still today: “Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.”2

So we ask . . .

What life trials has God turned into life lessons for you?

Are you able to look beyond anguish and self-condemnation from past failures and live freely and proactively in the life lessons we’ve learned from them?

What life learnings may we share with the generations that follow, so they can learn big lessons at small costs?

In the mercy of God, trials and failures are among the “all things” He works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.3 We are redeemed.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. — James 1:2-4 ESV.

Father, thank You for redeeming our shortcomings and failures and for teaching us through them. Lead us today in the victory of Your faithfulness and grace. In Christ we pray. Amen.

1 Deuteronomy 8:2-3 ESV
2 1 Corinthians 10:1-6 NIV
3 Romans 8:28 NIV

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Your You Is New

I have borne several social “identities” throughout my life. Vocationally, I’ve been a trainee, VP, and retiree; a teacher, blogger, and author, as well. Relationally, I’ve been Duke’s boy, Peggy’s husband, Matthew’s dad, and the kiddos’ grandpa. There have been others — some reflecting decisions, affiliations, and character traits, perhaps. What about you, how have you been known, be it now or at different stages of life? How we are perceived along the way is highly individualized, our persona formed throughout our journey.

So I find it fascinating that the God of all creation would declare His own being in the context of us, His created ones. To Moses, He yoked Himself relationally to the Hebrew patriarchs who preceded him: “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”1 In a brief preamble to the Ten Commandments, God defined Himself again, this time in terms of His past works on His people’s behalf: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”2 God embraces us, even to the point of identifying us in context of Himself, and declaring Himself in relation to us. Such intimacy! Such intentionality! What commitment.

What then must we conclude but that our true identity is anchored not in our moments, whether “good” or “bad,” but in God’s timeless love and grace, which surpasses all? David writes, “From everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him.”3 In turn we ask, who does the “I AM” — this timeless One — say that we are? Who are we, really? God tells us through His Word:

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”4
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”5
“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.”6
“You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.”7
“For we are [God’s] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”8

Who else has God made you to be? What else does His Word say about our new identity in Christ? If additional Scripture comes to mind, share it with the rest of us. And know this: We are defined by who we are in Christ and by the work God, through Christ, has done in us. May we live in the freedom of new identity.

Father, You have put us in Christ and made us Your own. Fill us that we would live fruitfully in this freedom, knowing we are loved, that we are Your own. In Christ we pray. Amen.

1 Exodus 3:6 ESV
2 Exodus 20:2 NIV
3 Psalm 90:2 NIV
4 2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV
5 Isaiah 43:1 ESV
6 Romans 8:16-17 ESV
7 Ephesians 5:8 NIV
8 Ephesians 2:10 ESV

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Remember This

“There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens,”1 so penned King Solomon. There is, for instance, is “a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;”2 so, too, there is for us “a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak.”3 Personally, I find myself in a season not mentioned amid Solomon’s couplets — a time of remembering. For less than two weeks from now, July 18 will mark 60 years since my father’s untimely passing, and the very next evening I will gather with my former classmates, whom I love, to celebrate our 50th high school reunion. We were a close class; we still are. So for me, there will be mourning amid dancing, and maybe weeping amid laughter, and behind it all will be remembrance.

Though remembrance can be painful, there is much to be gained through it. God repeatedly told His people, “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt.”4 Why on earth would God command His people to remember their years of oppression? He continued, “and the Lord your God redeemed you from there.”5 Against recollected evil, God’s goodness glows more brightly, and His faithfulness is found unmatched.

Does this sound too lofty — a nice concept, but detached from reality? Consider my personal story. After my father died, our young family struggled with grief. It was “one foot in front of the other” and “just go forward.” One day, someone shared a Bible verse, Psalm 68:5, with our mother; it read, “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.”6 Mom embraced this verse daily until the three of us, her children, left for college. All the while, God proved Himself to this fatherless one, for He gave me a teacher who drew potential from me. He sent a corporate manager to hire this college senior and thereafter to invest in my career. He placed in my life a pastor who exuded strength, confidence, and great joy — a true spiritual role model for this young believer. He sent another corporate executive who mentored me well. So as I look back now on my grief and despondency, I cannot do so without also remembering God’s faithful deliverance from its pain. For like a father to the fatherless, He was with me.

Can you relate? Can you recall how God has made difficult times in your life, though perhaps still painful, ultimately work for your good and to His praise? He is with you. Remember this.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.” — Isaiah 43:2 NIV

“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.”7 Thank you, Lord, for being with me, always. Amen.

1 Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV
2 Ecclesiastes 3:4 NIV
3 Ecclesiastes 3:7 NIV
4, 5 Deuteronomy 24:18 NIV
6 Psalm 68:5 RSV
7 Psalm 139:7-8 NIV