Don’t Forget to Remember: Living Awake in a Forgetful World

There’s something deeply tragic about forgetting what matters most. It’s not that we never knew. It’s that we forgot to remember.

We live in a world brimming with reminders—calendars on our phones, sticky notes on our fridges, alerts buzzing on our wrists. Yet even with all this, we still miss appointments, lose focus, and slip into habits that leave our souls asleep. If we’re honest, the same can happen in our faith: we forget truths we once celebrated, drift from promises we once clung to, and lose sight of the Jesus we once loved so fiercely.

Peter, writing near the end of his life, saw this danger clearly. He wasn’t worried his readers had never heard the Gospel; he was worried they’d drift from it. He wrote with urgency:

“I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them…” (2 Peter 1:12).

Peter knew knowing the truth once isn’t the same as living it daily. A faith unremembered is a faith unlived. He understood that spiritual amnesia is real—and devastating.

Knowing vs. Living: When Faith Settles to the Bottom

Think of a pot of hearty homemade soup. If you leave it sitting without stirring, all the good stuff—chicken, veggies, noodles—sinks to the bottom. Ladle from the top without stirring, and you get thin, salty broth. But when you stir it up, you taste everything that makes it satisfying.

That’s how it is with faith. The Gospel can settle to the bottom of our hearts, buried under distractions, busyness, and routine. We might read our Bibles. We might go to church. But without intentional stirring, we end up sipping bland spirituality—thin, shallow, and unsatisfying.

Peter’s words jolt us awake:

“As long as I live, I will stir you up by way of reminder” (2 Peter 1:13).

The Greek word he uses—diegeirō—isn’t gentle. It means to rouse someone violently from sleep, like the disciples shaking Jesus awake in the storm (Mark 4:38). Peter wasn’t offering soft nudges; he was ringing an alarm: Wake up to what you already know before it’s too late.

The Urgency of Short Time

Peter wrote with the weight of impending death. He knew, from Jesus’ own lips (John 21:18–19), that his life would end in a martyr’s death. That knowledge didn’t make him withdraw in fear or hurry off to complete a bucket list. Instead, he doubled down on the one thing that mattered: preparing others to stand firm when he was gone.

Mortality clarifies priority. Psalm 90:12 says,

“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

When we remember our time is limited, we find the courage to speak what’s eternal.

Building Legacy That Lasts

Peter’s final words aren’t about himself; they’re about the Gospel. He writes,

“I will make every effort so that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things” (2 Peter 1:15).

He didn’t want to be remembered. He wanted Jesus to be remembered. That’s the heart of true Christian legacy: to pass on what never changes to those who come after us.

Consider the Gospel of Mark. Many scholars believe Peter was Mark’s primary source, Mark his spiritual son, and that Peter’s stories were written down so they would outlive him. Early church father Papias called Mark “Peter’s interpreter.” Peter’s urgency to remind didn’t just shape a few scattered churches—it helped give us a Gospel we still read today.

This is what Paul meant when he wrote,

“What you have heard from me…entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).

Our faith isn’t a cul-de-sac. It’s a through-street. We are not called to keep it to ourselves, but to pass it on.

Don’t Whisper Down the Lane

Without written truth, we’d rely on human memory alone—and human memory is painfully unreliable. Anyone who’s played “Whisper Down the Lane” knows how quickly messages twist. What starts as “Jesus loves me” can turn into “The cheese is lovely.”

Yet Peter and the other apostles made sure we wouldn’t have to depend on whispers. They passed down Scripture so we can stand on what is written. Jesus Himself, when tempted by Satan, didn’t rely on vague recollections; He declared,

“It is written” (Matthew 4:4,7,10).

Men die. Memories fade.

But the Word of the Lord endures forever.

Stirring One Another Up

Today, we’re called to the same work Peter pursued until his final breath: to stir one another up to love, faith, and good works (Hebrews 10:24). A church that simply sits and smiles has missed the point. We’re called to live out a faith that wakes up sleepy hearts—our own and each other’s.

Ask yourself:

• Who first stirred your faith when it had settled to the bottom?

• Who are you intentionally stirring today?

These are the relationships where legacy is built—not in big, showy moments, but in daily faithfulness.

Don’t Forget to Remember

“Don’t forget to remember” might sound silly, but it’s exactly what Peter commands. Forgetting isn’t neutral; it’s dangerous. The enemy loves to steal our attention. The world tries to lull us to sleep. Our own hearts drift without constant reminders.

“Truth that isn’t remembered won’t be lived. And truth that isn’t lived eventually gets replaced.”

Let that challenge ring in your heart today.

What Now?

• Revisit what you already know. What truth has settled to the bottom?

• Stay awake. Are you going through the motions, or living with urgency?

• Recognize time is short. What words would you speak if you knew your days were numbered?

• Pass it on. Who in your life needs to hear, see, and experience the Gospel through you?

Because grace is too precious to forget.

And someone is depending on you to remember it—and remind them.

“The Word lives on. The truth still saves. And your time… is now.”