We all probably had to do it at some point growing up. We had to memorize something, whether it was the states and their capitals, some Bible verses for some program at our church, addition and multiplication tables, or something similar. While some of us may have been better at memorizing than others, the reality is that we all had to do some kind of memory work at some point in our life.
Lately I have been awed by my wife. She took a challenge last year of memorizing two Bible verses each month. She would write them out on note cards and hang them on the mirror in our bathroom. I can't tell you how many times I have read those Bible verses, and I know she worked hard to seal them all up in her mind. Who knows, at this very moment, she might be able to recite them all!
One of the traditions of the church body that I belong to is memorizing some of the basic fundamentals of what we believe in the Christian faith. These basics are outlined in a book called a catechism, which is from the Greek word which simply means something along the lines of instruction. We spend time memorizing things like the Ten Commandments and some meanings to them, the Apostles' Creed and its meaning, the Lord's Prayer, and other significant things like the meaning of Baptism, the Lord's Supper, and Confession and Forgiveness (Absolution).
Each year, to hear the kids tell it, you'd think that this memorization was torture. I hear it all the time. "I can't do this." "It's too long." "Why do I need to memorize this?" And yes, I have to admit that explaining the long term benefits of memorization to 7th and 8th grade students is pretty much a practice in futility. For some reason, when we are that age, we have a hard time seeing the big picture.
Why do memorization work? In part, I have come to believe that it really does give us a foundation for our faith, and somewhere to turn at any point during the day when we feel the need to call upon God's name for His help. It's something like a piano player who learns his scales. I've been told that many great players would spend time every day practicing scales, the very basics. After all, practically everything they play is an extension of the basic scales that every first-time piano player learns and practices.
I don't know why we think of our faith in a different way than that. Perhaps it's that we tend to think of God's saving action in Jesus as a one-time, 'it's all done' kind of thing, and so we don't have to worry about it. However, the longer that I work in my career, the more I see that our faith really does have an impact on things that we do or experience every day.
So as we come across those various points in our lives, having a foundation of what we believe helps us think about God's design and intention for what we do as His people in every situation. Sure, not every situation in life will fit directly into the things we memorize and know. However, when we think of what we have learned and memorized as the foundation, then we see that our life and experience merely builds on that foundation.
So what do you think you would benefit from knowing by heart as you live your Christian life? What could you memorize to help build that foundation which gives you strength as you live your life?
Lately I have been awed by my wife. She took a challenge last year of memorizing two Bible verses each month. She would write them out on note cards and hang them on the mirror in our bathroom. I can't tell you how many times I have read those Bible verses, and I know she worked hard to seal them all up in her mind. Who knows, at this very moment, she might be able to recite them all!
One of the traditions of the church body that I belong to is memorizing some of the basic fundamentals of what we believe in the Christian faith. These basics are outlined in a book called a catechism, which is from the Greek word which simply means something along the lines of instruction. We spend time memorizing things like the Ten Commandments and some meanings to them, the Apostles' Creed and its meaning, the Lord's Prayer, and other significant things like the meaning of Baptism, the Lord's Supper, and Confession and Forgiveness (Absolution).
Each year, to hear the kids tell it, you'd think that this memorization was torture. I hear it all the time. "I can't do this." "It's too long." "Why do I need to memorize this?" And yes, I have to admit that explaining the long term benefits of memorization to 7th and 8th grade students is pretty much a practice in futility. For some reason, when we are that age, we have a hard time seeing the big picture.
Why do memorization work? In part, I have come to believe that it really does give us a foundation for our faith, and somewhere to turn at any point during the day when we feel the need to call upon God's name for His help. It's something like a piano player who learns his scales. I've been told that many great players would spend time every day practicing scales, the very basics. After all, practically everything they play is an extension of the basic scales that every first-time piano player learns and practices.
I don't know why we think of our faith in a different way than that. Perhaps it's that we tend to think of God's saving action in Jesus as a one-time, 'it's all done' kind of thing, and so we don't have to worry about it. However, the longer that I work in my career, the more I see that our faith really does have an impact on things that we do or experience every day.
So as we come across those various points in our lives, having a foundation of what we believe helps us think about God's design and intention for what we do as His people in every situation. Sure, not every situation in life will fit directly into the things we memorize and know. However, when we think of what we have learned and memorized as the foundation, then we see that our life and experience merely builds on that foundation.
So what do you think you would benefit from knowing by heart as you live your Christian life? What could you memorize to help build that foundation which gives you strength as you live your life?
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