When I was a younger speaker, I thought that to be effective, I had to come up with original ideas and insights to bestow on the audience. Two decades and over one thousand presentations later, I’m comfortable saying that I’m merely a “professional reminder-er.” There’s almost nothing I say that’s new or original. And that’s ok. The way I tell the stories, because of who I am and the experiences I’ve had, are what make them fresh.
The thing is, even professional reminder-ers need to be reminded once in a while.
I went to confession the other day (five stars — highly recommend!) and I was babbling about being angry over not knowing what God wants me to do in some areas of my life. The priest shared a story recounting similar feelings he had when discerning his vocation. His spiritual director stated plainly, “But you already do know what God wants from you.”
Then a pause. I waited with bated breath, thirsty for the answer.
“He wants you to love him with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. What God wants is for you to trust Him every day.”
Duh. Yes!
A few minutes later, I walked out of the confessional encouraged and lighter. But I felt embarrassed that I needed to be given such basic Christian 101 advice.
Then I remembered something C.S. Lewis said, something I’ve been telling my audiences for years: “We need to be reminded more than taught.”
He’s right. Once we get through the basics, much of the rest of life requires us to be reminded of those basics, the things we already know.
Why?
Because life is complicated. Sometimes we get busy. Sometimes we get distracted. And sometimes we get lost.
If I think back far enough, I can almost remember when the Bible felt new, when I first started to take my faith seriously and really dig into it. Sure, I knew about the blockbuster moments like the parting of the Red Sea the baby in the manger, but most of it was still unexplored. Of course, the depths of truth in the Bible can never be plumbed, and we can always gain new insight with each reading, but perhaps you can relate to it sometimes feeling like a big book of reruns. Stories and sayings I’ve encountered again and again.
But they’re not reruns as much as they are reminders.
The Bible is an entire book of reminders.
It’s one of God’s greatest gifts to humankind because He knew that life can get complicated and we’d get busy and distracted.
And He knew that sometimes we’d get lost.
There’s no shame in being reminded about something we already know, but for whatever reason, have lost sight of. Even after achieving the highest levels, everyone from soldiers to shortstops needs to reinforce the basic principles they learned on day one in boot camp and Little League.
God loves you.
Because He loves you, He wants what’s best for you.
And because He’s God, He knows what’s best for you.
All He wants from you is to trust Him.
None of that is original, but I can’t seem to have it drilled into me enough.
Maybe you are like me, feeling like you’re in the middle of a confusion tornado. Ungrounded. Unsettled. Uncertain. Maybe you are busy, distracted, or overwhelmed.
Maybe you’re feeling lost.
Allow me to remind you about that big book of reruns reminders God gave us.
Give it a try. Look at it again, a little more closely, even if you’ve read it all before.
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