“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” John 14:26
I met my wife while playing drums in a Holiday Inn lounge almost 43 years ago. She was on vacation, I was working in a band and taking college classes. The event of our meeting was epic. 2 1/2 days later I proposed! That night started one thing and ended another. I never again played drums in bar. But…I was never again alone!
I got that drum set in 9th grade and had SO much fun over the years. I never got rid of it, but it has been packed away for a very long time. Yesterday I got an itch to set them up again. Just for fun. And yes… it was!
Even though I hadn’t touched those drums for at least 5 years, it went together as if it was just yesterday. I remembered that broken tom-tom leg, the tricky way the snare had to sit on its stand and the time I bought that bass peddle. Those things had never left me, but lay stored in the back of my mind. Not needing that information, there was no need to bring it up again. But there ARE more important things I must NEVER forget.
Jesus spoke those words to His Disciples before the New Testament and The Church were even formed. The Old Law was never able to SAVE ANYONE, but pointed to His sacrifice, which would. That ‘Good News’ was never meant to be kept hidden… but proclaimed. His Words and promises would be taught as life saving principles to be learned, applied and remembered. He even promised that the Holy Spirit would come and take what I learned and DRAG it to the forefront of my mind. BUT…
I cannot remember something that I have never learned. The Holy Spirit cannot reach me if I haven’t the tools, will and time to for Him to do His work. Over the years I have made the study and application of His Words to my life. I know and remember the MANY times I was in a pickle and ‘poof’ a Bible verse came to remembrance. I am proof that Jesus keeps His promises.
I think there’s a difference between reminiscing and remembering. The first is only sentimental. The second, as Jesus intends…is a LIFELINE! The more I know His Word, the more I know HIM. And the more I know Him, the more I love and count on Him.
I had fun banging on those drums. Once learned, it really never goes away. I can say the same thing for reading and learning the Word of God. Like my drums and my wife, one thing led to another. And so it is with His Words and abundant life. And I am STILL… no longer alone! Do ya dig me man?
