By the Numbers

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures: he leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul: he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
- Psalm 23

A young man started a new job working on a factory assembly line. On his first day, the young man was paired with an older worker who helped him learn the job. About mid morning one of the workers on the assembly line shouted out “three!” and everyone burst into laughter. A little while later, another worker shouted out “sixteen!” followed by even more laughter. Just before they broke for lunch, another one of the workers shouted out “twenty-three!” and the whole assembly line doubled over in uproarious laughter.

During lunch the young man asked his co-worker why everyone laughed so hard when people shouted out random numbers. The older worker explained that since they had been working together for many years they knew everyone’s jokes so they decided to number them and just call out the numbers instead of saying the whole joke. The young man was impressed by this and he decided to give it a try after lunch. So when they had been working awhile, the young man shouted, “three!” but it was followed by complete silence. He thought hard about which numbers brought the most laughter in the morning. “Sixteen,” he shouted, but still no response. Finally he remembered twenty-three got a great response so he shouted it out enthusiastically, but no one laughed.

When the work day was over the young man asked his co-worker about why no one responded when he shouted out the very same numbers that had brought so much laughter in the morning. The older worker put his arm around the young man and said, “Now don’t take this too hard, but the truth is not everyone knows how to tell a joke!”

It is hard to imagine people actually responding to numbers in that way, but for Christians who study scripture seriously it is not that far fetched. For instance, if we simply put the word, “John” before the numbers “three” and “sixteen” immediately we remember the one scripture that sums up the gospel the best: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” Or if we put the word, “Psalm” before the number “twenty-three” we are transported into the presence of the Lord as our Good Shepherd who leads us to a place of comfort, peace and protection.

Memorizing scripture is by no means a requirement for being a faithful Christian, but when we take the time to do so, the scriptures become a living part of us. We are currently in the middle of the season of Lent when we take a deeper look at our lives and try to make changes that will draw our lives closer to God. One important change could be to spend extra time committing favorite scriptures to memory. Let them become a vital part of who you are as you prepare for the Holy Week of our Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection.

My suggestions for powerful scriptures to memorize in addition to John 3:16 and Psalm 23 are: Philippians 2:5-11, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Romans 12:9-21, 1 John 4:7-14, Galatians 5:22-23, Colossians 3:12-17.