The benefits of scripture memorization

One of my goals this year is to memorize the book of Colossians. The practice of memorization is not an easy one because you constantly have to go back to what you have memorized otherwise you lose it. In fact I was chatting with an almost teenage child at church who supported that idea. That child is great at scripture memorization and has many books of the bible in his brain. As we were chatting, I was curious to know his method and learn from it. What I found out is that he does it in chunks and recites one chunk at a time. Once a chunk is covered, before moving to the next chunk he reviews the one that is covered. Doing so consistently, he eventually covers the whole book. There is no way around the fact that it requires discipline and commitment. This week, to my joy, I was able to achieve that goal and I realize that indeed when you keep pressing and don’t give up, you do get a reward. More than memorizing the book, what I enjoy most is how I am able to meditate on scriptures as I learn to recite them. As such, I have been blessed with the richness of the book of Colossians particularly the third chapter as it pertains to what the new life in Christ is calling us to emulate. Colossians 3 emphasizes very well that because we are now new creatures that have died with Christ and are raised with Christ, we ought to set our minds and hearts on things above. We can no longer afford to live in our flesh, in our old ways, we have to live by the spirit. The book of Colossians helps us understand exactly what we must get rid of and what we must put on. My goal today is to simply highlight the differences between the two natures as well as highlighting three areas where our new life in Christ should change us.

According to Paul, as new creatures whose lives are now hidden with Christ, we ought to put to death whatever belongs to our earthly nature. This means, there is nothing good within our earthly nature. As a matter of fact, we must kill whatever came from it. This includes but is not limited to: “sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5). In addition to that, Paul exhorts us to get rid of “anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips” (Colossians 3:8). I don’t think anyone needs an explanation of the things we are asked to get rid of, those things do not belong to Christ, they do not reflect who God is nor do they reveal His character to anyone. Alternatively, Paul exhorts us to put on “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience”. Added to that, there is forgiveness, love, and peace which all belong to the spirit. It sounds very similar to what Paul wrote to the Galatians as he talked about the fruits of the spirit in comparison to the fruits of the flesh. These new “clothes” we must be wearing have to make their way into our hearts. Indeed, because we are in a spiritual battle, that is we are fighting the earthly nature and the things our flesh loves, we must constantly be renewing our minds to the ways of God (Romans 12:2). This means, the bible becomes our authoritative source on everything. Continuing in the chapter, Paul mentions three areas where the new life in Christ should change us and our thinking.

The first one is in our view of the church, our new family, our brothers and sisters redeemed by Christ and how to live in community with them. One of the greatest thing God did for us in Christ was to adopt us into His family, making us children of God. As we have come to know, this family is comprised of people from every nation, tribe, and language (Revelation 7:9). This diversity, while beautiful can prove difficult when dealing with fallen creatures in a fallen world. However, Paul reminds us that as members of the body of Christ, we are called to love, peace and unity. Part of that understanding means, we can no longer compare one another or adopt a superior nature to fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord. Our ethnic backgrounds do not qualify us or disqualify us from the inheritance we have in Christ. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross removed the barrier that existed between Jews and the rest of the world. We who were not part of the promise of salvation were grafted in and this ensured that we would be reconciled with God and with men. Therefore, we must learn to live in peace with our brothers and sisters in Christ since we are now part of the same family. Peter would have attested to this as he had been confronted with an issue with the early church. There was a problem in the distribution of food between the Grecian Jews and the Hebraic Jews. You can already tell the two groups had issues with each other. In wisdom, Peter understood that men filled with the Holy Spirit should be put in charge to solve that problem while he and others would ensure they devoted themselves to prayer and the preaching of the word of God which was extremely important for the early church given their context (Acts 6: 1-7).

The second one is in our view of our biological family. Just like in the case with our family in Christ, when it comes to our biological family, our new identity in Christ changes everything, how we interact with each member. Paul gives commands to wives, husbands, children and fathers. To wives, Paul gives the command to “submit to their husbands as is fitting in the Lord” which I find interesting because it means, there may be times when it is not “fitting” to submit to your husband. The idea is simple, Christ is the head of both the man and the woman so if the husband engages in activities that dishonour God or reject Him, the wife is free from that submission. A great example of that is found in the story between Abigail and her husband Nabal who was known to be a fool (1 Samuel 25). To the husbands, Paul gives the command to “love their wives and to not be harsh with them”. I like how Paul added the part about not being harsh with your wives. One can safely assume it was common to see husbands not being kind to their wives and not treating them well. Sadly, even today this is still the case amongst some couple. In another letter, Paul told husbands that they must love their wives as Christ loved the church, giving himself for her, cleansing her and presenting her to himself radiant without stain or wrinkle (Ephesians 6: 25-28). This kind of love is very countercultural, it was back in Paul’s time and it still is in ours today. To children, Paul gives the command to “obey their parents in everything for it pleases the Lord”. I believe this was not so much a new command for people in that culture or even in ours where it is generally accepted that children should obey their parents but Paul’s emphasis here seems to be on the fact that doing so pleases the Lord. It is as though Paul shifts the focus from performing the act to pleasing the One we are really obeying to. Finally, to the parents, particularly fathers, Paul gives the command to “not embitter their children or they will become discouraged”. Indeed, Paul shows that with our new identity, we must change radically the way we view our family members and start to treat them as Christ treats them that is with respect, as an image bearer, giving importance to every single member irrespective of their position, status or rank in the family.

The third one is in our view of authority specifically as it pertains to the relationship between a slave and a master. In our day, this can be likened to any relation where there is someone in authority and someone under authority, a subordinate. Paul exhorts the slave to be obedient to his master and to work as if working for the Lord. The principle is the same for us today, we must work as though we were working for the Lord, giving our hearts to it because serving the Lord is what we are doing in reality (Colossians 3:23). The same goes for the master or the person assuming the authoritative position, they must provide their subordinates with whatever is right and fair because they too have a master in heaven who does not show favouritism (Colossians 4:1). Our focus must always be God, pleasing Him and honouring Him.

This quick summary of the third chapter of the book of Colossians is filled with practical examples of how to live in the new identity we have in Christ. These truths came out more as I worked on memorizing the book. I know I will have to come back to it often to not forget but I love the fact that there is a reward after the strenuous process. Do you see how your mind and spirit can be edified when you have the word of God in you? The bible tells us that the word of God is life, a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105), it is much more too but you knew that already. I would encourage you to take a stab at this spiritual discipline, start small and stick to your plan. It is not just a practice for kids but for adults too and it does not matter how old or young you are. As a matter of fact, I have seen both young and old memorize so I know age is not the problem. I pray you embark on this journey and that the Lord through His Spirit guide you into all truths. Amen.