Two Inseparable Things

I’ve seen many book titles over the years. Some make you stop in your tracks when walking through an airport, while others make you shake your head and walk away. For most people, an eye-catching title is all it takes for a hand to extend and pick up the book. But in the hundreds of books I’ve seen, I’ve never come across a title that reads, “How Using Your Feet Improves Your Walking Experience.”

People don’t need to be convinced that putting one foot in front of the other is how you walk. It’s natural for all of us. You could make the same argument for swimming, jogging, or any other physical activity. Try to imagine a book titled “Why Movement Will Benefit Your Next Swim” or “Struggling to Jog? Try Speed.” These hypothetical titles sound out of place because the facts that they state are extremely obvious to us. We understand that movement and swimming, or speed and jogging go together. We view them as inseparable.

The Christian life and Scripture memory should be viewed in the same way - inseparable. 
A true and healthy spiritual walk includes prayer, service, and obedience to God’s commands. But it also includes reading, understanding, and internalizing God’s Word. As N.A. Woychuk once said, “Without such meditation grace never thrives, prayer becomes a mere formality, praise is perfunctory and dull and so-called Christian service is unprofitable.” Without Scripture, we’d easily lose sight of what is most important!

Separating the Chrisitan life and Scripture memory is tempting, and unfortunately, rather easy to do. Our culture today encourages fast-paced living and looks down upon those who live any different. In the middle of these pressures, Scripture memory can feel like a hindrance amidst opportunities of service. However, the outpouring of our lives in public really is the result of what has been planted in the secret. As Robert Murray M'Cheyne once said, “A man is what he is on his knees before God, and nothing more.” In other words, the Scripture you meditate on in the quiet hours is what will fuel you in the active ones. 

Memorizing Scripture undoubtedly benefits every area of the Christian life. It provides us with prayers to pray when we have no words. It fuels our witness when we share the gospel. It provides us with the words to speak when we are in the presence of a grieving friend. It guards us from sinful motives in the midst of service. It provides wisdom on how to study the Bible effectively. It shapes our worldview and gives us a desire to spring into action. Scripture and the memorization of it doesn’t hinder us, it equips us! The more we internalize God’s Word, the more effective we will be and the more the Holy Spirit will use to transform us in the process.

The Christian life flourishes when God’s Word is at the center of it, and the Spirit uses the Word to produce fruit in our lives. Are you looking to grow in your walk with Christ and deepen your understanding of God’s Word? 14:6 - The Life provides a systematic overview of what it means to follow Christ by emphasizing key spiritual disciplines. You will learn to answer seven central questions about discipleship including "How Should We Study the Bible?" and "Whom Should We Serve?" You can learn more about this resource by visiting scripturememory.com/thelife. 

¹ N.A Woychuk, Psalms - The Heart of the Bible (SMF Press, 2005), 5.