“Remember Now Your Creator…”
How far back can you remember things? It was posed to me some years ago as a kind of brain-teaser, and it got me thinking. How far back can I remember? One of the problems of early memory is that there is nothing to “hang a memory upon.” Usually, there is nothing out-of-the-ordinary that would make a memory. Everything is new.
Our brains are taking in information rapidly. Our brains are remembering everything in those early years. I guess that it’s part of survival. We are receiving important information that is necessary to live and survive.
This probably explains why we can remember so many things by the time we are five to eight years old. Enough things have happened to establish “normal.” Anything unusual would be logged as a memory.
Bible verses and passages, as the 23rd Psalm, or Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, if taught to our children to recite and to remember, are recalled, and they are remembered for a lifetime! Our deep memory is established during those early years. Sometimes as adults, we cannot remember what was told to us last week!
What is the value of Vacation Bible School? First, God’s Word is being taught to them, words that can save them, when they become accountable for their sins. (Rom. 1:16) Second, consider the ages of our students: they are at that young, impressionable age, when the unusual will be remembered. No wonder Solomon wrote by inspiration, “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, ‘I have no pleasure in them.’” (Ecc. 12:1)
I had to explain my unusual “Antonio the Italian runner” outfit to my neighbors, when I went to pick up my mail on Wednesday night. The “bottom line” is that we do the unusual, so our young people will remember God’s message. (Yes, I am inviting them to our Friend Day in October, for they need to hear the Word, too! I won’t be wearing a special costume, though.)
My earliest memory? I was sitting on my grandfather’s lap at Uncle Bill & Aunt Vera’s place. I was playing with Grandpa’s large gold ring, and I fumbled it. The ring fell and hit the lamp base next to our chair. I was two.
I still do a pretty good job reciting the 23rd Psalm, as well as many verses from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. My parents taught us when we were little.
If you care about your children’s eternal future, bring them to Bible School
(… every time)!
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