Stones of remembrance

In Joshua chapter 4, after the children of Israel have witnessed another demonstration of God's power as they crossed the Jordan River, God instructs the Israelites to do something very interesting: "And Joshua said to them, 'Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, "What do those stones mean to you?" then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.'" (Joshua 4:4-7)

I've always found this to be such an intriguing passage, and in pondering it last night, I started thinking about the idea of setting up "stones of remembrance" in our lives. I do not think this concept is something that was intended merely for the people of Israel in the time of Joshua; rather, I believe that this is something we should seriously think about in our everyday lives. How many times do we see the hand of God at work in our lives, in clear and powerful ways, and what do we do to remember and keep that experience as a reminder of God's faithfulness? The Bible does tell us to remember the goodness of the Lord; to be reminded of His love and care for us, perhaps especially as an encouragement during times of difficulty.

What exactly should these stones of remembrance look like in our lives? Of that I am not sure. But I do think it is an important, biblical idea to commit to remembering the work of God in our lives. We forget so easily--we doubt so easily--and I think it is for this reason that God instructed His people to set up clear, visible reminders of His care for them. Sometimes we need something that is a tangible reminder of God's past faithfulness, so that we remember that we have no reason to doubt the fact that He will keep us in His care in the future.