Craig Clouston

Living the Memories

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day.
1 Corinthians 15:3, 4

It was as if he had found a great treasure. As he lifted the lid on the trunk, he was taken by a boyish excitement. He had no idea what he would find. Pulling away the sheet covering the items in the trunk, he gently began lifting each one reverently from its resting place. Greg felt his pulse quicken, and he couldn’t wait to learn what secrets would emerge. A waffle iron Gramma had used still shined as though it were brand-new.
Memories of visiting Gramma’s apartment down the block came flooding back; he’d been but a child. Gramma would fix him waffles and tea for breakfast. Tea was a staple of every meal, especially at 4:00 p.m. since Gramma had been born in Great Britain.
As Greg lifted each item from the trunk, a new and special memory came with it. After several hours of reminiscing, he replaced each item to its resting place and closed the lid. How precious are the memories of living. Though the items would perish, the memories would last forever.

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Memories are passed in many ways, all of which are meant to impart something of value. As Greg spent those hours in fond remembrance of his grandmother, he could vividly recall the events as they had unfolded because he was actually there for many of them. As it stirs our heart to read about Greg’s joy in reliving the events that shaped his life, we get a better understanding that we have the privilege of reliving much of Jesus’ life and death through Scripture. We have been given eyewitness testimony from those who were there! These are not bedtime stories—although it is a good time to read them to our children—but true-life events in our Savior’s life. He invites us to read ourselves into the storyline.

Prayer

“We thank you for the written record of Your life, Lord. Enlighten our hearts as we open the Word so that we may feel some of what the disciples felt so we may feel alive in the memories. Amen.”