The Power of an Image2

I have been tutoring a 3rd-grade boy who cannot remember math facts, no matter what we do.  In his mind, 7 x 1 is some random number that he is supposed to guess at.  I have tried lining up marbles, drawing pictures in color, bouncing a ball to a certain rhythm, and reciting the tables out loud in a sing-song pattern ----nothing has helped him retain any math facts at all.  If I say "seven 1 time," he is finally beginning to grasp that one fact, but when we get to "seven 2 times," he is lost, unless he counts on his fingers.

Yesterday, after blogging about the power of an image, I decided to try images connected with the 7x tables, which he must learn now, even though he does not know the previous tables. 

First, we listed his "favorite things:"  his favorite food (lasagna), his favorite hobby (building models,) his favorite school, and so on.  Then we connected each math fact to one of his favorite things.  In less than 15 minutes, he could recall all the math facts from 7x1 to 7x7--by recalling the images connected to each fact.  Now, when I say "7 x 1," he knows that equals 7 plates of lasagna, and 7 x 2 = 14 model cars. 

Unfortunately, then we had to start his homework, so today he faces a test of which  he knows only half the facts---but that's more than he would have known otherwise.  I'm just wondering how many images we'll be able to concoct before we finish learning all the math facts he needs to know.

Knowing how "slow [we] are to understand," God has given us also unforgettable images of His faithfulness.  We recall His faithfulness to Abraham on his journey to the Promised Land, and His faithfulness to Moses and the Israelites in Egypt and in the desert.  We see the people crying out to Moses for water in the wilderness, and we see water flowing from the rock. 

God is not in a hurry to build his images---for 1000 years before the coming of Jesus, He patiently built images that would culminate in the Messiah--images of light, of restoration, of water, of faithfulness; images of shepherd and sheep, of kings and prophets, images of captivity and miraculous release.  When Jesus quoted Scripture, his hearers immediately knew and understood because of the images they carried in their history and culture. 

Our history and culture does not carry the same images; as a people, we have not reflected on God's action in our lives and how He has carried us through the wilderness and provided water from the rock, releasing us from slavery and bringing us into a land flowing with milk and honey.  Psalm 106 is a tragic review of what happens when a people forget what God has done for them:

• they forgot what he had done,
• gave in to craving,
• grew envious,
• worshipped idols,
• despised His inheritance,
• did not believe His promise,
• grumbled in their tents,
• did not obey,
• yoked themselves to Baal,
• sacrificed to lifeless gods.

In other words, when we abandon the images that God spent 2000 years establishing for us, we create our own "lifeless images" that provide no substance for our lives.  If God has given us the image of Himself "carving [our names] into the palm of His hand" (Is. 49:16), would we not do well to carry that image with us all of our lives?  Would it not help us to recall our own set of "math facts"?  It all adds up.