What does engrave means: To impress deeply, to carve. In order to engrave you need to remove or impress particles in order for the imprint to take place.There is a quote that I found that I love. It is from Sir James Matthew Barrie said, "God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December." Let’s think about that for a moment… “God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.” Memory is selective. How often do we bring to mind the Word of God when we are going through the cold “Decembers” of our lives? I am reminded of Corey ten Boom when she was taken to a concentration camp. She spent all her days in a huge room with harsh overhead lights, everything was damp and cold, and all the walls were gray. I remember reading that she said there was very little color in her world while she was at the concentration camp. They would hold dear the little things in life like a small flower that pushed its way through the cracks of concrete. They also had no bible, so it was up to their memories - only their memories of what was taught to them, songs that they had learned as children and the scripture verses, they had memorized that helped them through the hard times.
Are we allowing God to engrave his word in our hearts and minds?
Hebrew 10:16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, said the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts and in their minds I will write them.”
I did a little word study of some key words in that verse.
Law: Nom’os which means the law demanding faith, the moral instruction given by Christ
Mind: Dianoia which means understanding, thoughts – the mind as a faculty of understanding, feeling and desiring, a way of thinking and feeling
Heart: Kardia which means denotes the center of all physical and spiritual life. The soul or mind as it is the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires appetites, affections, purposes and endeavors. The Heart is the central part of your being.
Write: Epigrapho which means to inscribe, to write upon, engrave one's thoughts
He says he will put His laws into our hearts and in our minds, he will write them. We need to know God and his word. We have to mediate on his word and let his word be placed into our hearts. It is more than just quickly reading through the passages for each day. It is being still before God and letting His word penetrate our hearts and minds. As we meditate, Scripture will permeate and renew our mind. When we go through hard times, times of loneliness and loss will we have the memories of God’s Word so imprinted in our lives like Corey ten Boon to carry us through?
Charles Spurgeon said, "We write our blessings in the sand, and we engrave our complaints in the marble." How often is that true? Shouldn’t we instead engrave God's blessings, engrave God’s word in our hearts. If you do you will never grow weary of praising Him. Praise Him for all He has done. Don't load your mind with past burdens but enrich it with a memory of His blessings.
Daniel Webster said “If we work upon marble, it will perish; If we work upon brass, time will efface it; If we rear temples, they will crumble to dust; But if we work upon men's immoral minds And imbue them with high principles, With the just fear of God and love of their fellow man; We engrave on those tablets something which no time can efface, And which will brighten and brighten to all eternity."
What are we engraving on our minds that no time can efface? Are the engravings blessing to God that brighten and brighten to all eternity?
In closing, I came across a father’s reflection regarding his son’s grave. The grave had only an Oak Block that marked the spot. The father said “As his story is being erased by the decaying oak block that marks his grave, so is mine, and I am not ready to let us both go. I ordered a bronze plaque from a local monument today. I have come to realize that the plaque marks me as much as my son. Call it whatever you want, I need to keep telling his story, the story of my life as a father and the story of being a father to my son.”
When I read that I was reminded of God. God wants to continue to tell his story – His story of a father and a son and of changed lives. So, what about us – what story are we saying with the engravings in our hearts and minds? Does it mark as much of God as it does of us?
