The frustration of forgetting

The word of God is like a seed that goes into the soil of our hearts and produces a crop (Mark 4). Those of us who work hard to plant that seed through memorization hope to see God multiply it thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times. So it’s kind of depressing when we realize that our minds have forgotten the passage we memorized last year (or, ahem, even last week). How can we be sure that what we’ve memorized hasn’t gotten snatched up by the birds?

If all you’ve memorized is Psalm 23, then that’s all your brain has to store. If you practice that one Psalm every week, it’s going to stick, no problem. It’s when you add another Psalm, and another, and then a passage from Mark, and the book of Ephesians on top of it that the brain is forced to make a decision: which of these do we keep in short-term memory? That is, which passages does the brain choose to keep “on the tip of your tongue” (in case you have opportunity or need to recite it)?

Our brains are perfectly pragmatic. They hold only what we are telling them we need to use. Whatever you aren’t practicing or using, the brain takes and stows it up in an attic, where it won’t get in the way of what you’re telling it you need now. It can be discouraging when you reach for a passage you know you spent months memorizing, and can’t find it anywhere. So is more practice the answer? Well, maybe—if you want all your passages “on the tip of your tongue” where you can access them for recitation. But is reciting Scripture really the goal?

It’s very important to define 'success' in a biblical way. In my opinion, being able to instantly pull up any verse you’ve ever memorized at any random moment doesn’t actually count for very much, spiritually speaking, unless you’re a computer. At least we can say that being able to recite on demand is certainly not the only mark of success. And it’s not the only sign that you are 'retaining' what you’ve put in.

When a plant comes up from a seed, it doesn’t exactly resemble that seed, does it? It’s the same with God’s word. The form it has when it goes in will not always resemble the form it takes once it comes to life. It goes in as words, but God’s desire is that it would spring forth resembling his Son.

Sometimes the Scripture-seed bears the fruit of faith. Our faith is not born without the word of God; neither does it continue to grow without the word of God. If memorization produces faith or increases your faith, then memorization has done its work! Maybe it was a word you planted a month ago, and couldn’t impress anyone by reciting now, but there it is—all grown up into a fruit-bearing faithtree!

Sometimes the Scripture-seed bears the fruit of love. Perhaps the word which produced this love wasn’t a “thou shalt love” passage at all. Maybe it was Isaiah 62, in which I learned of God’s passion for his people, which sprung up in me as that same passion—for his people—and produced the fruit of love. Maybe it was Ephesians 6, and Paul’s battle cry: “You’re not fighting against flesh and blood! Get with the real battle, Church! You’re all wearing the same armour—you’re on the same team!” Who knows which 'word' God will use to produce love in you—remember, the seeds don’t always look like the crop. But plant them!

It could be that the Scripture-seed will produce a greater power for obedience in you, or cause you to recognize a spiritual gift, or hear a clear call to missions, or grow in Christ-like humility, or to speak just the right words in a conversation, or dozens of other crops. The fact is, there are enough seeds in God’s word to accomplish all he intends for your life to produce (2 Timothy 3:16, 17).

To equate success in memorization with recitation only is like wishing the seed would grow up to be a seed. But if the seed doesn’t also come to life, then the whole process has been in vain. Don’t be discouraged if what you’ve memorized seems forgotten in your brain. Keep planting seeds like it’s going out of style and then watch to see how the Holy Spirit breathes life into his word to transform you into the image of Christ.