Looking Back

In a National Geographic piece, writer James Owen details an investigation that explored the short-term memory of many popular animals. “Covering 25 species that ranged from dolphins to bees, the study found the average short-term memory span of animals was 27 seconds (which was the midway point before the memory is lost), according to a team led by Johan Lind, an ethologist at the Centre for the Study of Cultural Evolution at Stockholm University, Sweden…Dogs forget an event within two minutes. Chimpanzees, at around 20 seconds, are worse than rats at remembering things, while the memory spans of three other primates—baboons, pig-tailed macaques, and squirrel monkeys—exceeded only bees (the sole study participant that wasn’t either a mammal or a bird).” (James Owens, “Many Animals—Including Your Dog—May Have Horrible Short-Term Memories,” National Geographic, February 26, 2015). It seems we humans have a problem with memory, too. Throughout the Bible, we often read of God calling his people to remember. Remember his promises. Remember the past, to fuel their future. Yet, they so often forgot. The big idea of this message focuses on the promises of God. One way we can spur on our faith is by looking back and remembering all that God has done for us through the person of Jesus.