The Only Forgotten Son

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John 3:16  (link to video)

I've been working on memorization for Amber. She is a sponge and can recite portions of her story tapes, so why not use her ability to memorize and fill her brain with Scripture? So we decided to learn John 3:16, which took her a matter of days and she could say it, with one problem. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only forgotten son....."  Oops, that's kind of a big deal, huh?

But then I thought a bit more: forgotten Son, hmm, how many times do I forget Him? How many times do I go through my day acting as though I know nobody by the name of Jesus? Acting as though He is an impersonal being and has no effect on how I speak, how I live, or how I act?

I may have mentioned this on here before, I can't remember, but one thing that has been a huge blessing to me this year, 2019, is I feel a real desire to know God more. Yes, I have always said I want to know God more and I did, but this year, this season of my life I feel the desire more, I feel more "in tune" with God, whatever exactly that means. I want to have a prayer life that rivals the great prayer saints of our past and present. (Okay, I have a really, really long way to go there.) I want to feel His presence in my life, I want to feel His Spirit whisper to me throughout the day.

And what have I discovered? If I don't forget Him, He doesn't forget me. No, I don't hear a voice booming in the corner, but I have felt His reassurance as I'm battling a behavioral problem and feeling my defenses rising and my insecurity over what to do rise along with it, I have felt His reassurance that I am doing the right thing or that it is okay to let it go, whatever the case may be. It's been huge for me. I have felt His sustaining hand on the day when the naps were too short and my frustration level was too high and I dreaded the rest of the afternoon, I asked and He was there and it was a great afternoon.

I still don't do this perfectly, but I have also found that the more I view Him as the begotten Son instead of the forgotten Son, the more joy I feel, the more love I can give to my family, and the better all of life goes.

So yes, you can listen to the video and hear Amber's emphasis on "begotten" because she remembers to say it right (though I secretly hoped, for blogging purposes, she would get it wrong) and I hope it will inspire you to live as though He is the begotten Son in your life each and every day.

And if you have any suggestions of good verses for a four-year-old to learn, please pass them on. D and I both did the Rural Bible Crusade memorization plan as children and currently that is what I am planning to do, but I am always open to suggestions. And while I wasn't that huge of a fan of Rural Bible as a child when I was the one doing the memorization, I am a fan now as an adult. They give you a list of verses to have your child memorize and they provide the prizes as well. Great incentive. Amber is already discussing what color flashlight they will send her when she learns the Ten Commandments, though when I was saying the Ten Commandments to her, she seemed to think we should only learn them a verse at a time, I think it seemed a bit big to her.


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