Scripture memorization

I was not a big fan of scripture memorization during the years I worked in children's ministry.  It wasn't that I had something against the idea of memorizing scripture.  I just didn't feel like it was a good use of time.  I had my kids for 1-3 hours per week.  There was lots I was concerned about teaching them in that very short amount of time.  The vast majority (with a few exceptions) of the kids in my program weren't receiving any Christian education at home.  Many of my kids came to church on their own - their parents weren't involved at all.  Some of the parents & guardians were verbally non-Christian.  Others came on Sunday mornings, but didn't take their faith any further.  Those who actively discipled their kids at home were certainly in the minority.  To me, that meant that my limited time with these kids was vital.  I wanted them thinking.  I wanted to devote the time to learning whole stories more than snippets.  I wanted them to have some time to play together and look for opportunities of living out and working through the values they were learning.  I didn't like the idea of memorization because I anticipated the rote learning of words and phrases that would not likely inspire deeper reflection in their day to day surroundings.  They would parrot the verse back to me and not likely think much of it again.  Most of them didn't have guides at home to help them realize the important of the words in their day to day experiences.  So we didn't memorize scripture.

I still work in a volunteer role in children's ministry and we still don't memorize scripture.  Yet, Cap has lots of scripture memorized.  He started on his own by learning God Rocks! songs.  Now the preschool curriculum we are using is centered around a weekly memory verse.  So, why am I ok with memorization now?  Because it doesn't stop at memorization.  He learns the verse and we talk about it.  Often.  He's learning to think critically about his environment through the lens of the Bible.  I bring up the verses he has learned in different scenarios.  He claims he can't do something and we talk about the implications of Philippians 4:13.  I don't just respond by saying, "Remember, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!"  We stop and really talk about what the verse means.  There are things he can't do.  He can't fly without a plane.  But, with faith we have the promise that Christ will empower us to do all that he calls us to do.  We pray about it.  When he's not sure of the right decision in a given situation, we discuss Matthew 5:16:  which choice is a way of letting his light shine?  In these discussions, I've got a newfound love for memorizing scripture.