Burn It Into Your Memory

I

 remember the first personal computer (PC) I ever saw.  It was in 1985 during my senior year at college.  The college administration made a concerted effort to keep abreast of the newest forms of technology so that students could attain computer literacy by using the latest technology available.  A few of the guys on my hall purchased their own computers and the craze of owning one of those little boxes began.

I finished college in May of 1985 and in January of 1986; I purchased my very own PC.  I was ecstatic as I pulled it out of the boxes, plugged in all the wires, threw the switch and waited for it to boot up.  The ability to write papers, letters, notes, and store them on a floppy disk was cutting-edge stuff.  My machine had two floppy drives, the kind with the large, black, flexible disks.  Each disk held a whopping 256K of information and I wondered how I would ever have enough information to fill one.  The hard drive was unheard of and CD-ROM storage would have sounded like something from a science fiction movie.

Things sure have changed in the past twenty years.  Now we have computers that are extremely fast, we connect with computers all over the world via the Internet; we can listen to music, watch videos, and beam pictures of ourselves in real time over a phone line or cable modem.  We rarely store things on floppy disks anymore, opting for hard drives, CD-ROM’s, and DVD disks. 

My computer now has a CD-ROM drive that allows me to save my information onto CD’s designed to store information.  A laser beam “burns” the information onto the disk’s surface where it is permanently stored.  One CD holds the equivalent of over 2500 of the disks I used in my first computer!!!  What’s more is that the information I store on the CD is permanently burned into the disk, becoming an integral part of its structure.

In Jeremiah 31:33, we read about a similar process.  In this passage, Jeremiah writes, “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD.
I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”  This beautiful passage of scripture looked forward to the day when the nation of Israel would be restored and brought back to the land God promised on oath to Abraham.

Notice what God says about His relationship with His people.  No longer will the law be written on parchment or on scrolls.  Instead, God promises to write it in their minds and on their hearts so it will be a permanent fixture for them.  God’s word will no longer be external but it will be internal, an integral part of His people.

T

his is a wonderful promise to Israel and also one that we Christians can claim as well.  God’s law, His word, is an integral part of our lives.  According to Hebrews 12, “The word of God is living and active…” and Deuteronomy 32:46-48 tells us that all the words God spoke to Moses were “not just idle words but they are [our] life.”   In essence, God ensures us that His word will be burned into our minds so we always remember it and it will be burned into our hearts so we always live according to it.  Have you made a permanent copy of God’s word in your heart today?