“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet…” (Ps. 119:105).
During my childhood, I often carried small paperback books in my pocket. Then one year a teacher gave me a small packet of poems. She told me, “Carry one of these poems in your pocket, and try to memorize a poem every week.”
For years, I did this. I memorized poems written by Emily Dickenson, Robert Frost and John Masefield among others. These poems became a part of my outlook on life, a part of my memory.
Later, a pastor told me, “The only Bible we really own is the Bible we have in our hearts—not in our hands.” This made sense to me…so I began memorizing Bible verses, not just John 3:16, but passages from the Psalms and portions of the Sermon on the Mount. Many of these verses, similar to those poems I have not forgotten, I have carried them with me wherever I go. Alhough I don’t have a book in my hand, I have words in my heart.
One of the best pieces of advice I’ve been able to give teenagers is to memorize their favorite Bible verses. This doesn’t take as long as one might think, and most teenagers can have a few memorized in a week or two.
Beyond the memorization is the memory and the promise. These teenagers will have these small portions of the Bible to carry with them wherever they go: college, the workplace, marriage and beyond.
It’s true: “The only Bible we really own is the Bible in our hearts.”
