Sunday, February 17, 2002
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Sunday, February 17, 2002 |
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God's a good forgetter when it comes to forgiven sin By DR. DAVID L.
CHANCEY On a recent Saturday afternoon, around 1,800 boys, girls, parents and grandparents gathered at the Fayette County High School practice field for the annual baseball clinic sponsored by our church and three other area churches. Professional baseball players led instructional times and then shared their faith. One of the sponsoring pastors told Michael Barrett, catcher for the Montreal Expos, "I saw you make baseball history last year." Barrett responded, "what do you mean?" The pastor explained that he and his son were at Wrigley Field on last season's opening day when the Chicago Cubs hosted the Montreal Expos. Barrett questioned the home plate umpire's call on a certain pitch, got into an argument and was ejected from the game. Thus, Barrett became the first player ejected from a regular season game in 2001. Barrett's eyes lit up when he was reminded of that incident, and immediately he recounted the exact situation. I can't remember the specific numbers, but his response was something like, "Yeah, there were two outs and so-and-so was batting, and so-and-so was on second. It was a 3-2 count and the pitch was a slider on the outside corner for strike three and the umpire (he named him) called it a ball." One year and 162 games later, Barrett displayed a remarkable memory. Scientists say he'd better enjoy it while he can. Research shows that the male brain shrinks three times as fast as a woman's brain. Men lose brain tissue at almost three times the rate of women, curbing their memory, concentration and reasoning power. Ruben Gur, a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, said, "Even at the age of 18 to 45, you can see a steady decline in the ability to perform attention-oriented tasks in men." He said shrinking brains may make men grumpier because some of the tissue loss is in the left frontal region of the brain, which seems to be connected to depression. So, ladies, next time you're man is acting grumpy, just ask, "Is your brain shrinking today, or what!?" Or, better yet, men, the next time you forget an important date, such as a birthday or anniversary, just remind your wife that your brain is shrinking and you're more forgetful these days. I'm sure she'll understand a legitimate biological reason. Too often we're like the couple in their later years that was struggling with memory loss. One day, while in the bookstore, they saw this book on improving memory. So they bought it and began to study it. A few weeks later, a neighbor of the couple stopped by and was talking to the man. "Hey, how's that memory book doing for you guys?" "Oh, it's doing wonders," the man replied. "We're remembering things we thought we'd never remember, like where we parked the car, and where we laid our keys. It's fantastic!" The neighbor exclaimed, "Well, that's great. What's the name of that book. I think I'll get a copy for us to try." The man got a puzzled look on his face as he hesitated momentarily, and said, "What's the name of that flower, the pretty one with all the thorns on it?" "A rose?" the neighbor replied. "Yeah, a rose!" exclaimed the man as he shouted into the kitchen, "Hey, Rose, what's the name of that memory book we've been reading?" Does God only suffer from memory loss? Our all-knowing God, who knows our names, numbers the hairs on our head, and knows the burdens of our heart? Only when it comes to forgiven sin. The Bible says, "For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more (Jeremiah 31:34)." What is the key? Acknowledging before God when we blow it, confessing our sin, then receiving the gift of forgiveness and a clean slate before God. I John 1:9 reads, "If we (believers) confess our sin, then He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." God forgives us when we admit and confess. No excuses, no rationalization, but confession. Micah, the prophet, reminds us that God takes our sin and throws them into the depths of the sea. And He never digs them up again. Now that's a memory loss for which we should remember to give thanks. (Dr. David L. Chancey is pastor of McDonough Road Baptist Church in Fayetteville. The church family meets at 352 McDonough Road and visitors are invited to join them this Sunday for Bible study at 9:45 a.m. and worship at 10:55 a.m.)
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