Filling Little Minds with Scripture: A Call for Diligence

We were out running errands today – myself and all of the kids.

I was trying think of a way to keep them occupied in a productive way as we drove, so I said, “Let's play a game. We'll go youngest to oldest. Each person has to say a verse that they've memorized. When everyone has finished we'll start back at the youngest. The game is over when someone can't think of a verse.”

My 4-year-old was eager to start. I figured he would say one of the basics like “Children obey your parents” or “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

But he didn't. He launched right into Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, against such there is no law.”

I sat listening to his high-pitched, lisping voice with my mouth hanging open as he rattled it off word-perfectly, including the reference.

I know where he learned it. It was one I was working on with the older kids a while back. As I always do with their school work, I had let him listen in and absorb as much as he could.

But he absorbed it in its entirety and retained it after several months had passed!

Immediately after that his six year old sister had her turn. She recited a passage of three verses (Proverbs 6:16-18). I knew I hadn't taught it to her, so I assumed she had learned it at church.

“Where did you learn that?” I asked.

“I memorized it this morning when I was reading my Bible,” she answered.

Again, I was rather flabbergasted. I hadn't told her that she needed to memorize as part of her Bible reading. But she had picked out some verses all on her own and memorized them.

I was very pleased, of course, with both incidents.

But at the same time I was sobered.

My children's minds are at the very peak of their ability to memorize and retain what they've learned.

Oh, how I need to be much more diligent about helping them to memorize God's Word!

I read a story the other day of how a lady and her children memorized the entire book of Philippians by putting in just a few minutes a day, I determined that this is something I need to make more of a priority.

My children are involved in a scripture memory program at church, and I will be honest and say that I have let that allow me to become slack in this area as a parent. I am very thankful we have a program like that! But at the same time, why shouldn't we do even more as a family?

As I already said, it is evident that even my youngest children have the capacity to memorize and retain Scripture at an incredible rate.

If Fanny Crosby could memorize 8 entire books of the Bible before she was twelve years old, my children can memorize at least one!

I am determined to work our way as a family through the book of Philippians, using “Philippians in 28 Weeks” as our guide. It will be good for my children, and it will be good for me!

Teaching our children God's Word is not going to come by accident – we have to intentionally make the time!

Blessings on your family as you raise up the next generation to be faithful servants of Jesus Christ!