And I knew so many, too! From a very young age I’d learnt the Scriptures verse after verse, passage after passage
What a heritage! What a privilege to have these treasures tucked away in my heart and mind.
As I reflected on this, a feeling of deep regret came over me because I know my own children didn’t have the same opportunity to memorise Scriptures in the same way that I had. Week after week we would learn our Bible verses. We sang them; we recited them; we won prizes for memorising them.
I’ve never been ableto find the words to say what it’s meant to have those Scriptures imprinted onmy mind and in my heart. I could never tell you of all the countless times those verses, promises, rebukes and truths have spoken to me.
But, as I get older, it’s getting more difficult to recall many of them. I’m afraid that the confusion of various versions, added to mydependence on Google, Gateway and Bible Hub!!!! has left me realising my recall skills are rapidly diminishing!
However, along with this, something else has been happening. I have grown to love God’s Word in a new way. I have ceased to see verses and begun to see a story; a beautiful story that is introduced to us with God speaking life into this universe as we know it. I see a story that has no beginning or end but where a loving God reveals his redemptive plan to establish a people for himself. I see a story that has an amazing climax; a moment of triumph where death is defeated and God’s plan for his people is complete. But praise him that’s not the end. The story I’ve come to love so dearly is, and always will be, a never ending story!
So, for me, there are no more lists of verses and rote routines to share with others but instead a glorious story to tell!
As I’ve read and reread the scriptures; as I’ve worked with children and walked through the bible with them year after year something has happened in my own life; something rich and rewarding. I might be forgetting verses and references but I now have a story…God’s story! And this story has become one big picture. Yes, I’ve forgotten so many of the verses I used to know, but I have gained a beautifulstory. I wouldn’t have it any other way!