Treasures Old and New

I heard a Sunday School teacher say recently that it is absolutely imperative, no getting around it, you have to memorize lots of scripture to have a deeper relationship with God.  That was upsetting to some because they find it impossible to memorize much of anything.  The teacher said it had to be done, period.  He encouraged everyone to try.

I don't think he is right.  I don't believe God is playing word games with us.  I believe that we should keep scripture close to us, and one of the ways to do that is to memorize it.  But there are other ways, too. 

How about memorizing just for a day or two, just for an hour or two?  I'm thinking God would be more pleased with that than someone fretting over it.

Would He rather hear you say a verse or two, maybe even paraphrase it (making sure not to change the meaning of it) while you go about your day? 

Would He rather hear you read it from an index card or a sticky note and then think about that scripture and what it means to you? 

God wants us to talk to him.  He knows what's in our hearts.  He knows how we struggle to understand.  He is pleased when we keep trying.

My youngest grandchild is almost 2 years old.  He talks a lot!  What is he saying?  God only knows (and I mean that literally).  But we don't care!  We think it's cute!  We encourage him to make whatever noise he wants to make!

Is it possible that, because we're God's children, He might take the same approach?  He's happy to hear from us.  He wants us to know Him better.  He doesn't care if we can quote Him exactly.  He wants us to do our best, and, even more, He wants to help us do our best, whatever we're doing.

Please don't misunderstand me.  I am not saying memorizing scripture is not important.  I believe it is extremely important to closely study God's word.  I believe that for those who can, memorizing scripture is a good thing.  But to those who can't, it might be a stumbling block that I don't believe comes from God.

Ultimately, it all revolves around God and His love for His children.  It's not really about memorizing scripture; it's taking scripture a little piece at a time and reading it, saying it out loud, looking at it from all angles, asking God what He thinks about it. 

He doesn't care if our words are not perfectly spoken.  Just as I do with my grandbaby, God will take anything genuinely given and rejoice over it.

So he (Jesus) told them, “Every student of the Scriptures who becomes a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like someone who brings out new and old treasures from the storeroom.”            Matthew 13:52 (CEV)