Memorial Stones

Good morning,

Now, I know what you are thinking....headstones, right?  The kind you see in a cemetery.  Well, no, not really.  Today's text is Joshua 4, but particularly 19-24.

The people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month,[h] and camped at Gilgal on the eastern limits of Jericho. 20 Then Joshua set up in Gilgal the 12 stones they had taken from the Jordan, 21 and he said to the Israelites, “In the future, when your children ask their fathers, ‘What is the meaning of these stones?’ 22 you should tell your children, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, just as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over. 24 This is so that all the people of the earth may know that the Lord’s hand is mighty, and so that you may always fear the Lord your God.”

Not too long ago a friend of mine thought she had lost a piece of jewelry.  It was not worth much in terms of dollars, but it had a great deal of sentimental value.  She had had it a long time and someone special had given it to her.  She was relieved to find it, several days later.

Last night at college Bible study, we shared stories about how each of us had, at one time or another, received grace unexpectedly.  We had messed up, and instead of the hammer coming down, we received grace.  One of us said that that experience is what prompted her to get a tattoo.

Both the jewelry and the tattoo are examples of "memorial stones".  Here in Joshua 4, that is what the Lord God commanded the Hebrew people do: set up large stones as a memorial, to remind future generations of the goodness of God.

The Lord is good to all; and His mercies are over all His works.  

Psalm 145:9

Do you have any "memorial stones"?  I do.
It is important to remind ourselves of God's goodness, His mercy to us because, even in what we term "bad days", He is with us.  And, ultimately, if we have put our eternal lives into His hands, He will continue to be good and merciful to us.  The ultimate goodness, after all, IS eternal life with Him. Nothing can rob us of that blessing.

Lord God, thank you for your everlasting commitment and all-encompassing goodness to us, Your children!  Help us to never forget Your mercies!  In Jesus' name, amen.