Word in Hand

When I was a kid, I remember going to VBS (that is - Vacation Bible School), and kicking butt at memorizing Bible verses.  In fact, every day we used to go and try to recite as many verses as possible.  For each verse, you would receive a point.  The more points at the end of the week, the larger the prize.

That was bribery.  Blatant bribery.  And I loved it.

Obviously the older kids get the higher the cost of the bribe, and eventually, you just can't afford that kind of thing anymore.

Now, I'm not saying that bribery is the answer, but man, did we all know our Scripture verses.  You couldn't find a kid who came to VBS who didn't know at least 10-12 different verses by memory. But now I know kids, students, youth, and even adults who go to church every Sunday, are committed Christ-followers, but who couldn't even tell you where the book of Acts was found, or what John 3:16 says.  And I realize that the point isn't to be able to pull Scripture from memory just to do so, but to be able to share the Message, to tell others the Good News, to be able to refer to Scripture when it is important to be able to.

So, what happened?  

When did we get to the point when every week church-goers stopped being able to look up a verse in Scripture? Or is it laziness? We can use a search engine or iPhone, so why know where it is ourselves? Carrying a Bible doesn't look cool...so why bother?  Is that it?
It's sad, but I worry this is true.  I don't want my kids to grow up and not be able to navigate through their Bible.  I don't want our society to revert back to the times of just assuming that Pastors or Priests are teaching the Word without other people getting into the Word themselves.

What's the answer then?

The honest one is this: I don't know.  But I do have some thoughts.  We care again. Care that our children, or students - or that WE know God's Word.  And we re-learn it. Together. 

When I was a kid, my mom used to read us the Bible every night before going to bed.  She also used to do devotions herself every morning. She didn't make a show of it, but I saw it. So did my brothers. Everyday now, I do the same. I read Scripture in the morning - let it seep into my heart. I start my day with God's Word, and allow that to set the tone for that day.

But it's not just knowing. What's the point in that?  We need to know and live out the Word. To know and not do is foolish. Why bother? As Christ was the Word made flesh, we need to be followers of Him, and put the Word into action, let it permeate our lives.

We need to have the Word in hand - to read it, study it, and know it; but we also need to have the Word in hand, in heart, and let it infuse our lives. And as we know God's Word, we learn his heart.  We get to know Christ.  And in knowing Christ, we begin our transformation from the inside out. 

So, you see.  My worry isn't just that carrying a Bible around has stopped being cool.  My worry is that without caring to know the Word ourselves and take our own initiative to do so, people will stop knowing the Word altogether, and then, stop living it out. 

I think the great danger in biblical illiteracy goes far beyond people being able to know where to look up something in the Bible - it endangers the Truth itself.