It Can Help Only if You Read It

My youngest daughter and I were both bored, waiting on Dad to tear himself loose from the fascinating farm implement and lawn mower merchants at the county fair. Earlier in the evening an exhibitor had shoved a "Smile Jesus Loves You" tiny booklet in her hands. It was filled with a series of Bible verses answering questions related to what it means to be a Christian. She started reading the verses to me, one at a time, and then was surprised as I proceeded to complete most of the verses in the little booklet from memory after her prompt of a couple of words. I say this not to brag. Indeed, it proved embarrassing.

"When did you ever learn all those?" she asked. It was my turn to be surprised. How had we failed our children? There are very few scriptures they have memorized.

How unfortunate: everyone knows how much more difficult it is to memorize things later in life. I say this not to specifically knock her or our parenting or her religious education. We are all to blame. No one was emphasizing scripture learning. No matter what faith group you belong to, I'm betting this is true in other faith groups as well.

This is a shame because while my memory may fail for short term things, I find it does pretty good in remembering things I learned longer ago.

Test yourself. If you are of the Christian faith, can you recite these familiar verses?

- For all have sinned.... (Romans chapter 3, verse 23).
- For the wages of sin... (Romans 6:23)
- Behold, I stand at the door... (Revelation 3:20)
- The Lord is my shepherd... (Psalm 23)

I'm betting that you at least got the last one.

I wrote recently about this in a devotional magazine, recalling that I came to know these and 300 other scriptures through a rigorous "Bible Memory Program" for which the ultimate prize was a week at "Bible Memory Camp." It was something I worked several years to achieve but the real gift was not just a week at camp, but things committed to memory that I can still (with a little prodding) pull up.

While educationally we may think memorization is not a way to really learn the meaning behind texts, there is something comforting about being able to call up bits of scripture in the middle of the night or on a long lonely drive.

But never mind memorization of sacred texts: perhaps we would be doing good to first of all just read them. Biblical literacy, along with many other kinds of literacy, is not very good. A poll reported earlier this year in USA Today noted that about 60 percent of Americans can't name five of the Ten Commandments and that Sodom and Gomorrah were a couple instead of cities.

The week of November 18-24 is National Bible Reading Week. Emphasizing the wealth of literature in the Bible is good--but does no good if people don't read it.

I have a long way to go; I don't read my Bible as often as I should. But when I do, I am frequently blown away by how it speaks to me in fresh and relevant ways. If you haven't read the Bible in awhile, start with one of the Gospels--Matthew, Mark, Luke or John.

Historically, the "family Bible" graced the coffee tables of many homes. Now it is out of contemporary style to place a Bible there. But that's okay. Those Bibles rarely got read anyway. Much better to have one by your bedside to pick up first thing in the morning or take to bed with you last thing at night.

If you're interested, there is more information about:
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Contributed by Melodie Davis: MelodieD@MennoMedia.org Melodie is the author of eight books and writes a syndicated newspaper column, Another Way