What Is Your Response to God’s Reminders?

I have a confession to make… I can be pretty forgetful. Sometimes I forget small, minor things, but other times I forget big, important things. Do you struggle with a similar problem? Because I am so forgetful, I take advantage of technology and set reminder alarms on my phone. When the alarm goes off, it reminds me to take action on some task.

Many times, reminders are necessary to make sure we do what we should do. But if I get a reminder alarm about an activity and don’t do anything when I hear it, then that reminder really didn’t do me any good. A reminder is helpful only if it causes us to do something. In other words, every reminder must be accompanied by a response.

Every year, believers recognize two foundational days in Christianity: Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday (Easter). These days are God’s reminders of what He did in Jesus Christ to secure eternal life for us. Good Friday reminds us of Jesus’ death on the cross as He sacrificed Himself to pay the penalty for our sins. Resurrection Sunday reminds us that God raised Jesus from the dead to provide salvation for us.

Paul told the believers in Corinth of God’s reminders in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 when, inspired by the Holy Spirit, he said, “Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 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 according to the Scriptures.”

Also, Romans 4:25 says, “He (Jesus) was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”

It’s good that we celebrate Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday every year, but how has God’s reminders of Jesus Christ’s death for our sins and His resurrection from the dead affected us on a daily basis? What should our response be to these great reminders? Let me offer the following suggestions for a few ways we can respond.

Love Him

First, we can respond to God’s reminders of Jesus’ death and resurrection by loving Him. Mark 12:30 says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Because of all Christ did for us, we should love Him with everything we have! Loving someone requires more than just lip service. Love is more than talk; it also involves action. Love demands deeds. Love should motivate us to do something. John 14:15 says, “If you love me, keep my commands.” Our love for Christ should move us to obey Him.

Live for Him

Second, we can respond to God’s reminders of Jesus’ death and resurrection by living for Him. Second Corinthians 5:15 says, “And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” Contrary to what we might think, our lives do not belong to us; they belong to the Lord. Living for Jesus means putting His will above our will, His desires above our desires, and His agenda above our agenda. Instead of getting up in the morning and asking ourselves, “What am I going to do today?”, we should ask God, “What do You want me to do today?” When we live for Jesus, it’s all about Him and not about us.

Lift Him Up

Third, we can respond to God’s reminders of Jesus’ death and resurrection by lifting Him up. That is, we should be witnesses and tell others about Jesus. John 12:32-33 says, ” ‘And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.” When Jesus talked about being lifted up, He was referring to being crucified on the cross.

For us, we lift Jesus up by telling people what He did and continues to do for us. We can share how He sacrificed His life to pay the price for our sins, how He walks with us every day, and how He comforts, strengthens, and keeps us. Because of all Jesus does for us, we should be willing to lift Him up by boasting about Him to others! The more we brag on Jesus, the more He will draw people to believe in Him.

While the calendar only sets aside a couple of days a year for Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, we should celebrate them every day of our lives. Why? Because every morning God allows us to open our eyes is a reminder of Christ’s death and resurrection for us and should inspire us to love Him, live for Him, and lift Him up for all the world to see! These are only a few ways we can respond to God’s reminders. What about you? How will you respond?