One of the most common messages of God to people throughout scripture is “Remember.”  Over and over again God tells people, “Remember me.  Remember me.  Don’t forget what I’ve done for you.  Don’t forget what I’ve taught you.  Don’t forget who I am to you.  Don’t forget me. Don’t forget who I am and who you are.  Remember.”

And over and over again people forget.  You forget.  I forget.  It seems to be our natural inclination to forget God and all that God has done for us.

To resist this inclination the people of God fill their lives with things that help us remember – rituals, habits, festivals, holidays, the reading scripture, the singing of songs, . . . and the stacking of stones.

The stacking of stones to remember God is a practice seen in a number of places throughout the Old Testament.  It is sometimes called “raising your Ebenezer” because that is what the prophet Samuel called a particular stone he raised after God delivered the Israelites from their Philistine enemies (1 Samuel 7:13-14).  Ebenezer means “stone of help,” and like other stones of remembrance, Samuel wanted this stone to be a tangible reminder for the Israelites of God’s love and faithfulness to them.

It one sense the habit of stacking stones, or raising an Ebenezer, is literally making a noticeable pile of rocks or making a really big rock stand up in such a way that people notice and say, “What’s that all about?” which then leads to a story about God and God’s faithfulness.  In a more general sense though, it is about filling your life with tangible reminders of who God is, what God has done for you, and who you are in light of that relationship.  Stacked stones are things that continue to call our forgetful hearts back to God.

There are so many great ways to fill your life with these stacked stones.  For some people it is the Bible beside their bed or on their coffee table.  For others it is the little notes of scripture throughout their house, the dash of their car, or at their desk at work.  For some it is that special worship music playlist that they play while making dinner.  It can also be a special necklace or bracelet, or a piece of art on the wall.  Many Christians treat the meal table as an Ebenezer – a reminder of God’s goodness and a special time to pause and thank God for all our blessings.  For many Christians their yearly calendar is full of special times of stacking stones with their family and church, whether it is the regular rhythms of Sunday, or the special rhythms of Advent, Christmas, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, and so on – these are Ebenezers too.

The important thing here is to accept how forgetful you are, how forgetful all of us are, and how much we need reminders in our lives.  Remembering encourages our faithfulness, reminds us of who we are, reminds us of what is important, and it nurtures hope for the future.

There is a reason God keeps telling us to be careful to remember.  Forgetful people need to constantly be in the business of stacking stones.