| Forgetfulness is a Spiritual Disease - article by Joel Hempel
I’m not proud of it; in fact, I get back in touch with the shame when I think about it, but twice I have been drunk in my life. Once in college and once as a young pastor. As a young man training to become a Clinical Pastoral Educator, I traveled to Dayton, Ohio, to work under two certified educators at a counseling center. One evening, I went out with a couple of the staff and got drunk. After sleeping in my motel room overnight, I went to the counseling center hungover with a migraine the following day. During a co-counseling session with the training counselor, I was inattentive and started nodding off. I was an embarrassment and an offense to myself, God, the counselor, and the center, and I failed the counselee. It was the last time I got drunk. But sadly, there have been countless other times when I have forgotten who I am as a born-again, beloved child of God and representative of Jesus Christ.
Baptism is foundational to our identity. In baptism, God declares who we are and that we belong to him. We are his fully loved and adopted child – never forgotten and firmly held in his grip. But when we forget who we are, bad things happen. Like that young pastor, we will make foolish and harmful decisions. We will fail others, hurt our image as a child of God, and damage Jesus’ reputation.
However, and this is a huge HOWEVER, God is forgiving. And though we can disappoint him, we cannot drive him away. We may stiff-arm and keep him at a distance, but his hold on us is secure. So, he waits as his Spirit reaches out to us, seeking and creating the opportunity to draw us back into a close and flourishing relationship. And when he has our attention, he reminds us:
We were buried therefore [with Christ] by baptism into [his] death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4).
Whatever our age, we are his new creation. We do ourselves and others a disservice when we don’t remember our identity as a Christ-man or Christ-woman. Daily, we are to recall that we are a baptized child of God, alive in Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Every day, we renew our commitment to not let Satan have a foothold in our life. How do we incorporate this kind of intentional remembering into our daily routine? Here are a handful of ideas: - Read Scripture meditatively. Take your time reading the Psalms, the Gospels, and the Epistles with the purpose of identifying those verses that build you up and remind you who you are.
- Sing or read hymns and spiritual songs that strengthen your faith and inspire your living.
- Journal your prayers for your eyes only. Be open and honest with God.
- Invest in devotions that contribute to your spiritual well-being.
- Join with other Christians you trust to be a mutual support for living faithfully.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20). | 
