A Really Boring Title
I was going to title this "Memorization And Scripture Reading" but after typing it in.... well you get the idea. That wasn't sufficient for my mood today.
Ask me to talk about games, movies, books, and I'd be set for hours recalling strategies, detailed information, scenes, points made, strengths and weaknesses. All of it. Ask me to recite scripture....
To be fair, that's not an equal example, as reciting scripture isn't equivalent or as easy as talking about a subject in general. I could go on a long time talking about God. The point still remains though, even in obscurity. I recently set a timer while reading through Ephesians and Romans, the results as follows. Ephesians took about 15 minutes, and Romans about 45.
It was mildly unsurprising, (that doesn't make much sense) considering there seems to be some sort of hype about mass scripture reading. Or at least, I've experienced that. Hype that a chapter a day is a lot.
Well, it's not. I can sit down to a fantasy book and read fifty or a hundred pages. Or watch a 3 hour movie. Or make horrible sounds with instruments for an hour until my fingers break. Or sit and space out for inordinate amounts of time.
So, yeah. Two factors I've had ample cause to reconsider yet again, scripture reading in general, and memorization. It's one thing to be able to converse over biblical topics, it's another to quote the manual itself. I liken it to bumping into that someone and talking about their proficiency, their occupation. It's not difficult to tag along with most people, interjecting relevant questions and making intelligent remarks and comments, following along can be done. But then out comes some jargon and acronyms and specifications that only someone who learned the trade would understand. So much for looking like you know anything.
Or talk to a gamer, following along isn't hard.
Gamer: "Once you get the tech for heavy lasers 3, the size is small enough to mount on foot soldiers which is huge, I mean it opens a lot of possibilities for cheap and quick glass cannons."
That Other Guy: "Oh yes, lasers are good."
Gamer: "With +3 to attack and only size 4, there's still room for an above-ground mask and the staff of the ancients, and if you mass these in combination with weather chambers with their rain regeneration, then combating infantry and tanks with the same unit can be possible, so long as you keep up gas production and don't let the inverter overheat above 50% because that slows the rain regen by half as well and that totally cripples the thing. It's useless then."
That Other Guy: "Yeah, I can imagine that would end ingloriously."
Gamer: "Well, what you can do is research robotic slaves which is right after mass production, if you can manage the crystal requirements early enough for this strategy to still be any good, then overcharge the inverter so it takes damage over time, and use the slaves to auto-repair so it never completely destroys or fixes. Because it's under repair though, you get the overcharge ability continuously and the inverter never overheats. The slaves can't repair fast enough though, so you have to use their own ability enforced haste to make them fast enough, which damages them too but that's easily fixed by putting a hospital nearby. Kinda a lot to set up, but super powerful if protected by towers and some anti-tank guns from quick raids."
..... yeah I just made all that up.....
Point being, that my following of Christ cannot flourish if pursued on the level of one simply capable of "following along" with things. That's not genuine and results in a great deal of burning.
And since I can't seem to get my brain to function right, here's what I'm getting at.
A mechanic can explain the engine, and talk to me about Jesus, but may not be able to explain the gospel.
I can explain the gospel and talk to a mechanic about mechanics, but may not be able to explain an engine.
Or try the same example using a computer networker and justification.
What is it about a mechanic that makes you trust them? Or at least allow them to work on your car? Not that they can chat with you about tire tread and gas prices, but that they can recognize different parts on your car and know the names, and figure out what's wrong once again when you've no clue yourself. That's not something that anyone gets without direct hands-on experience and/or learning. They know what the books say and what works.
In the same way, while most can talk about heaven or God, or maybe even stuff like repentance and justification or mercy or whatever, in what part of the bible does it talk about those? Can they explain those things and not simply input on them? Can I quote from the rulebook of Christianity? It's the difference between being recognizable as some part-time body that changes no ones mind, and being a full-time worker that everyone knows as reliable and good for advice in that field.
Scripture reading, in comparison to recreational reading, or other entertainment venues. I think it's safe to say the balance is significantly skewed, there's not enough reading of the word going on. I know that is true for myself, but in the same breath I remember times of sudden fervor when I'd read an entire book and then walk away feeling pharisee-ically proud, retaining only a fragment of the reading and coming away with little understanding. That gets you nowhere good and is detrimental. If a life in Christ is real, the bible isn't just another book contending with other current titles for my daily reading allotment, it's my bread and water, my life. Not reading the word each day is akin to not sleeping, or eating, or drinking, or using the bathroom, or putting any clothing on. Dire things happen!
Galatians 2:20 puts it well.
"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
Also memorization... as I recalled one spring day I think 3 years ago now, whilst clearing away masses of debris from an insanely icy winter, I talked to myself for probably an hour and a half straight about the strengths and weaknesses and strategies of the Advents capital ships in Sins Trinity. Mmhmm. It was intense and pathetic at the same time. Looking back I don't regret my obsession, as I learned some good stuff from games and have the capability to relate very well to lost gamers, and I can't change the past anyway so spending time bemoaning that is stupid in the first place. It does make me realize just how much humans will memorize whatever they're really in to, be it a card game, a book series, movies, trivia, computer, lawnmowing, knot-tying, alphabet-reciting, choo-choo train decaling... I don't know, I lost where I was going.
Memorizing the bible? Yes, is good. Ought to be like knowing the stats of that basketball player or knowing all the names of the current Nascar drivers or whatever it is that is memorized without even the realization that the whatever it is apparently weighs of more worthiness to be memorized than the life-giving bible. Memorization is not so terribly hard to accomplish through everyday repetition.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9,
"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."
Ask me to talk about games, movies, books, and I'd be set for hours recalling strategies, detailed information, scenes, points made, strengths and weaknesses. All of it. Ask me to recite scripture....
To be fair, that's not an equal example, as reciting scripture isn't equivalent or as easy as talking about a subject in general. I could go on a long time talking about God. The point still remains though, even in obscurity. I recently set a timer while reading through Ephesians and Romans, the results as follows. Ephesians took about 15 minutes, and Romans about 45.
It was mildly unsurprising, (that doesn't make much sense) considering there seems to be some sort of hype about mass scripture reading. Or at least, I've experienced that. Hype that a chapter a day is a lot.
Well, it's not. I can sit down to a fantasy book and read fifty or a hundred pages. Or watch a 3 hour movie. Or make horrible sounds with instruments for an hour until my fingers break. Or sit and space out for inordinate amounts of time.
So, yeah. Two factors I've had ample cause to reconsider yet again, scripture reading in general, and memorization. It's one thing to be able to converse over biblical topics, it's another to quote the manual itself. I liken it to bumping into that someone and talking about their proficiency, their occupation. It's not difficult to tag along with most people, interjecting relevant questions and making intelligent remarks and comments, following along can be done. But then out comes some jargon and acronyms and specifications that only someone who learned the trade would understand. So much for looking like you know anything.
Or talk to a gamer, following along isn't hard.
Gamer: "Once you get the tech for heavy lasers 3, the size is small enough to mount on foot soldiers which is huge, I mean it opens a lot of possibilities for cheap and quick glass cannons."
That Other Guy: "Oh yes, lasers are good."
Gamer: "With +3 to attack and only size 4, there's still room for an above-ground mask and the staff of the ancients, and if you mass these in combination with weather chambers with their rain regeneration, then combating infantry and tanks with the same unit can be possible, so long as you keep up gas production and don't let the inverter overheat above 50% because that slows the rain regen by half as well and that totally cripples the thing. It's useless then."
That Other Guy: "Yeah, I can imagine that would end ingloriously."
Gamer: "Well, what you can do is research robotic slaves which is right after mass production, if you can manage the crystal requirements early enough for this strategy to still be any good, then overcharge the inverter so it takes damage over time, and use the slaves to auto-repair so it never completely destroys or fixes. Because it's under repair though, you get the overcharge ability continuously and the inverter never overheats. The slaves can't repair fast enough though, so you have to use their own ability enforced haste to make them fast enough, which damages them too but that's easily fixed by putting a hospital nearby. Kinda a lot to set up, but super powerful if protected by towers and some anti-tank guns from quick raids."
..... yeah I just made all that up.....
Point being, that my following of Christ cannot flourish if pursued on the level of one simply capable of "following along" with things. That's not genuine and results in a great deal of burning.
And since I can't seem to get my brain to function right, here's what I'm getting at.
A mechanic can explain the engine, and talk to me about Jesus, but may not be able to explain the gospel.
I can explain the gospel and talk to a mechanic about mechanics, but may not be able to explain an engine.
Or try the same example using a computer networker and justification.
What is it about a mechanic that makes you trust them? Or at least allow them to work on your car? Not that they can chat with you about tire tread and gas prices, but that they can recognize different parts on your car and know the names, and figure out what's wrong once again when you've no clue yourself. That's not something that anyone gets without direct hands-on experience and/or learning. They know what the books say and what works.
In the same way, while most can talk about heaven or God, or maybe even stuff like repentance and justification or mercy or whatever, in what part of the bible does it talk about those? Can they explain those things and not simply input on them? Can I quote from the rulebook of Christianity? It's the difference between being recognizable as some part-time body that changes no ones mind, and being a full-time worker that everyone knows as reliable and good for advice in that field.
Scripture reading, in comparison to recreational reading, or other entertainment venues. I think it's safe to say the balance is significantly skewed, there's not enough reading of the word going on. I know that is true for myself, but in the same breath I remember times of sudden fervor when I'd read an entire book and then walk away feeling pharisee-ically proud, retaining only a fragment of the reading and coming away with little understanding. That gets you nowhere good and is detrimental. If a life in Christ is real, the bible isn't just another book contending with other current titles for my daily reading allotment, it's my bread and water, my life. Not reading the word each day is akin to not sleeping, or eating, or drinking, or using the bathroom, or putting any clothing on. Dire things happen!
Galatians 2:20 puts it well.
"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
Also memorization... as I recalled one spring day I think 3 years ago now, whilst clearing away masses of debris from an insanely icy winter, I talked to myself for probably an hour and a half straight about the strengths and weaknesses and strategies of the Advents capital ships in Sins Trinity. Mmhmm. It was intense and pathetic at the same time. Looking back I don't regret my obsession, as I learned some good stuff from games and have the capability to relate very well to lost gamers, and I can't change the past anyway so spending time bemoaning that is stupid in the first place. It does make me realize just how much humans will memorize whatever they're really in to, be it a card game, a book series, movies, trivia, computer, lawnmowing, knot-tying, alphabet-reciting, choo-choo train decaling... I don't know, I lost where I was going.
Memorizing the bible? Yes, is good. Ought to be like knowing the stats of that basketball player or knowing all the names of the current Nascar drivers or whatever it is that is memorized without even the realization that the whatever it is apparently weighs of more worthiness to be memorized than the life-giving bible. Memorization is not so terribly hard to accomplish through everyday repetition.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9,
"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."
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