I grew up in a moderate Baptist church in the Bible Belt. One of the things our church did well was educate children in the word of God. In addition to weekly Sunday school classes and biblically based preaching in worship, we were encouraged to read the bible on our own, and through a now-defunct organization called Training Union, we had classes in scripture memorization. In these classes, we worked our way through some of the most important passages in the Old and New Testaments, committing them to memory, while also being challenged to locate any book of the bible and any of the 24 passages we memorized each year in under 8 seconds. Once we had mastered all of these verses and found our way around the bible, we proceeded to have our “official” bible drills at the church, association, regional, and state levels, pitting our skills against children and youth from other churches. As a child, this appealed to my competitive nature. I was a top finisher at the state level for six straight years.
While the participation certificates from these drills have since disappeared, several things have stuck with me over time. I still have a few of my well-worn drill Bibles (KJV, dark blue with a quote from 2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to show thyself approved unto God” emblazoned on the front). I can still find most books of the bible in under 5 seconds. Most importantly, I can quote nearly all of the verses I worked so hard to memorize 40 years ago.
One of the first verses I learned (after John 3:16) was Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Easy to memorize, much more challenging to understand. Talk about a tough passage for a fourth grader to grasp! Now, as a 54-year-old adult, I must admit I still struggle with it a bit. Eternal life is the ultimate blessing from God. This passage is a stark and essential reminder that eternal life is not earned but comes to us as a gift of God’s love. We have done nothing to deserve it other than being children of God. Sometimes that gift is difficult to accept.
Americans are driven to achieve, climb the ladder, and be productive and successful in all we do. This scripture helps us understand that simply being a child of God is enough. We are enough. We do not derive our value from our bank account, the car we drive, or where we vacation. Our worth is seated in the One in whose image we are created.
During this season of Eastertide, we can celebrate Christ’s conquering of sin and death. We can celebrate that there is more to our existence than simply living and dying. We can celebrate the freedom this promise gives us. “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).
One final passage to help you celebrate this season more fully:
… Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? … thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ … be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
—1 Corinthians 15:54–58
I am grateful to my parents, Terry and Betty, who practiced all of these verses and so many more with me over and over. And a special thanks to Jaunita Hartsell, the most patient church training adult sponsor ever! Mrs. Hartsell, you would be pleased to know I can still find my nemesis, Obadiah, in under six seconds!
