Can We Really Forget?

In general I want my posts to be focused on thoughts about what I'm reading, but there's been a thought in my head this past week that I think is worth addressing and runs parallel with what this blog is about.

The thought started with a conversation I was having with one of my friends who was showing me their new Bible-in-a-year reading plan. He was explaining how he had taped the reading plan to the inside of his Bible so he wouldn't lose it and then went on to tell me how he had also signed up for the service that e-mailed him the passage he was supposed to read. This way he could read the passage on his iPhone or from any computer if he didn't have his Bible with him.

Now this was all in the context of a car ride to the airport, so I was listening to him as I was driving down the road. For the first half of his description I was listening somewhat passively as we all tend to do with small talk, but when he started talking about the e-mail service I found myself giving a bit more thought to what he was saying. He, being one of my best friends, noticed this and finished his description, afterwards waiting a moment for my reply. I looked over at him and grinned as I realized he knew exactly what I was about to say, but knew I was going to say it anyway.

"We are the laziest people on earth", I said as he laughed but still nodded in agreement. The sheer ridiculousness of the whole thing hit me as I realized how many resources I have at my disposal. Is there really any way we can claim to have forgotten to read that day with all the alarms and reminders we have available? Is there any way to account for our lack of reading aside from that we really don't see it as important?

I noticed it even more this week as I attempted to memorize 2 Peter 1:1-11. Sadly, this is probably the largest portion of scripture I've ever set out to memorize. Well, that's aside from a summer bible camp project I gave myself where for some reason I decided to memorize the chapter where Solomon is sending for the building materials designated for the temple. If memory serves, I think that was the result of an early mis-application of God's sovereignty where I would flip open the Bible and think that wherever it landed was where God wanted me. Cedars from Lebanon...I digress.

What I realized while trying to memorize the passage this week was that I took advantage of a lot of opportunities to see it daily. I taped it to the side of my filing cabinet at work, recited it to myself while driving, and spent a lot of time repeating the transitioning sentences that always seemed to trip me up.

What I'm saying is, I have a lot of opportunities and resources, and it's a bit ridiculous of me to claim that I somehow couldn't get around to reading or thinking about something. Maybe it's time to re-evaluate how serious we are about reading God's word and spend some time thinking about if our forgetfulness is actually intentional. In my past, the answer was definitely a resounding yes, and I hope to never be in that place again.

- Jeremy Peggins, Building Bookcases writer