Putting the I into WISDOM
The Christians who have most influenced me for good have had a fully functional familiarity with the book of Proverbs. They were (and are) able to take their considerable knowledge and apply it to their lives, providing both godly examples and godly advice. Join with me as each one of us endeavors to put the I into WISDOM. Let us seek to exemplify God’s wisdom in our daily lives. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
We have spent four days studying Proverbs 2:1-4. Mining (verse 4) is a slow process! If we study God’s Word (verse 1), listen attentively to Biblical preaching (verse 2), and pray seriously (verse 3), verse 5 reaches this conclusion: “Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.” One of the many distinctives of Christianity is the unusual juxtaposition of “fear” and finding. I commented on this truth briefly when we studied Proverbs 1:7, but I return to it today. Fear involves both reverent awe and some good old-fashioned shaking; finding includes coming close. Thus, as I said previously, we are properly drawing back even as we are drawing closer to God. I, for one, do not intend to sashay into the presence of God my Savior in eternity, and I certainly hope that I do not do the same now. There are two thoughts that are uppermost here. First, God is our All in All. There is no contradiction in drawing back and also in drawing nigh at the same time. Both reveal something about God – something good and great. He is completely holy and absolutely loves us; He is transcendent in His majesty and immanent in His salvation. Second, when we truly seek wisdom, we find the One True God. We can be assured that the lengthy and laborious process of mining is certainly worthwhile.