m a k e IT M E A N I N G F U L !
By E. Margaret Clarkson
see the ultimate goal rather than the immediate; who will sacrifice quanti tative repetition for meaningful un derstanding. For the end in Scripture memoriza tion should not be the quantity of verses learned, but the child’s heart understanding o f the passage in question. Far better that a child should learn one short verse and make it part o f his experience— learn to use it in time o f need— than that he should be able to recite glibly a dozen verses o f which he has little or no comprehension. .Can our children give the meaning o f their Scripture verses in their own words? Do they know how to make use o f them in their daily lives? Are they o f practical worth to them, or merely the ornamentations o f acquisi tive young minds? To make Scripture meaningful in this way is not the task o f the Holy Spirit alone; it is also ours, as co-workers with Him. It calls for careful and intelligent teach ing ; yet most o f us could provide this if we were more anxious to insure child understanding of the passages learned, and less desirous of making a good showing on Children’s Day. What I would entreat for Scripture I would beg also for hymns. Do your children know the meaning o f what they sing about in church and Sun day school? Ask them some day to paraphrase a familiar stanza in their own words, and see what you get. You may smile ¡to hear a little one sing, “When mothers went sailing, their children bothered Jesus,” ( “When mothers of Salem their chil dren brought to Jesus” ) or, “ Once in oil was David sitting.” ( “ Once in royal David’s city.” ) But what have ( Continued on Page 22) Page Thirteen
F OR some time offerings had been disappearing at a certain Sun day school. When the culprit was discovered, officials were aghast. The thief was none other than the boy who had topped the list in their recent Scripture memorization contest. “ Didn’t you know that some of the very verses you memorized told you how wrong it was to steal?” the Superintendent asked the lad. “ Did they?” was his reply. “ I never knew it. I didn’t know what any of those verses meant. The teacher' said to learn ’em and win a prize, so I just learned ’em. They didn’t mean nothin’ to me. Nobody told me what they meant.” Too much o f our memorization pro gram is carried on in that way. Why wonder then because the youths who memorize so much Scripture in our Sunday schools show so little of its power in their everyday living. “ But,” you object, “ surely we should encourage memorization of Scripture! Why, the Bible itself says that we should teach its truths to our children! What better way can we do that than to have them memorize parts o f the Bible?” You are right, o f course — in a sense, at least. My plea is not fo r less A U G . U S T , 1 9 5 0
memorization, but for more meaning ful memorization—a thorough under standing of the passages learned, not merely a rote-repetition of meaning less texts. David said, “ Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” To inject God’s Word into the minds of our boys and girls is not enough; we must see that it reaches a lodging-place in their hearts. We must endeavor to make the selections to be learned so real, so much a part of the child’s experience, that their memorization will become a thing o f real significance—a pool of well-understood truth from which the child may draw strength to help in time o f need, a background against which the Holy Spirit may brood as He pursues His mysterious office of teaching the child o f the things of Christ. This may well mean that fewer Scripture verses will be committed to memory, and that competitive memo rization may not flourish as in the past. But I venture to say that not merely words will be learned, but truths, and that a more vital work of grace will result in the lives o f the children. And a less obvious but more lasting satisfaction will be the reward o f the teacher who has eyes to
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