Memorizing AND Doing

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Scripture: Matthew 28:16-20
            16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” [1]
Devotion
            I have been convicted in my sprit by this verse and the Holy Spirit. When I was much younger, I memorized this piece of scripture. But I now confess to you all that I have not lived it out. While there is nothing wrong with memorizing scripture. In fact, it is highly recommended. We must take an additional step of doing what the scripture requires of us.
            To see how this might look to God, let us see how this might work using a earthly example. Suppose I had told my son when he was younger, “go mow the grass.” Suppose then he came back to me in an hour and said. Dad you said “go mow the grass. See I memorized it!” Would I consider that good enough. No, I think we can all see that I asked him to do the job of mowing the grass, not merely memorizing my words.
            So, it is with God. God has given instructions to carry out not merely words to memorize. Memorization is important. Without it we could not remember what God has asked us to do and apply it to our lives. My son in the example above would have needed to remember what I asked him to do at least until he had mowed the yard. So, we need to remember God’s commands so we can use them in real life. When Jesus was asked what the most important command was, he did not have to look it up in a scroll of the Old Testament. No, he had it in his memory ready for instant access. He did not have access to a handy text with him. Already divided into chapter and verse for ease of memorization. The same with Paul and the other New Testament authors they knew the text from memory. But they did more than just know what the text said they also did what it said to do.
            Let us, therefore, do more than just know that we are to "make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." Let us be go and do it.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 28:16–20.

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