Memory Power

I tend to think that I have fairly good memory.  I can remember my telephone number, home address, social security number, checking account number, at least four different driving routes from my home to the airport, the freezing point of distilled water at 1 atm pressure (273 degrees Kelvin, 0 degree Celsius, or 32 degrees Farenheit), the official distance of a marathon (26 miles and 385 yards, 26.21875 miles or 42.195 km), and even my old college student identification number (it's 300-514-159 for those who are interested).  I have also committed to memory some of the lawyer jokes that I heard back in medical school, as well as many of the funny things that my children have said during their early, innocent years.  I have nearly completely memorized the notes of a Telemann oboe sonata.  I know how to spell words like choledocholithiasis, esophagogastroduodenoscopy, ursodeoxycholate, and docosahexaenoic acid.  I even know what those words mean.

Nevertheless, my memory abilities pale in comparison to the average stage performer, who is required to recite and/or sing long verses entirely by memory.  Whether the performer is playing the leading role in a high school musical or a professional stage actor performing a Shakespearean play, he or she is required to flawlessly memorize dozens, or perhaps hundreds of lines of script, and express them on stage with appropriate cadence, emotion, and nuance.  The entire five acts of Hamlet?  The script takes a few hours to just read through, but countless aspiring thespians have managed to memorize their lines and verses from start to finish.  The memory capacity of the human mind is truly amazing.

Being armed with such a prodigious memory, it is distressing to know that most people who claim to be Christians do not spend much time or effort in memorizing Bible verses.  While most can probably easily recite John 3:16 or The Lord's Prayer, we can do much better.  After all, the apostle Paul urged us to:

"Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts."  (Colossians 3:16)

How are we to let the "message of Christ" dwell among us if we do not know what it is, or where it can be found in the Bible?  Knowing that the message is in the Bible without actually knowing it by heart is like a person with a serious illness knowing that the pharmacy has his medication, without actually taking it.

Paul also instructed us to put on the full armor of God, which includes the "...sword of the Spirit, which is also the word of God." (Ephesians 6:17).  Knowing God's word intimately allows the bearer of this sword to wield it skillfully for its intended purpose and not injure oneself with it.

"For the word of God is alive and active.  Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."  (Hebrews 4:12)

May we be diligent in training our "sword" skills by memorizing God's word.  Stage attire is optional.