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Moment in the Word

Edwin Woolsey

Posted

Luke 2:52   Jesus grew both in body and in wisdom, gaining favor with God and people. (Good News Translation)
Unfortunately, in some of our religious institutions, people are expected to check their brains at the door; however, God is not in any way opposed to wisdom. In fact, we read that as Jesus matured and grew wiser, God actually loved Him more and more, along with the people that heard His intelligent ministry!
Currently, we live in a world reverberating with a deafening cacophony of talking heads, all claiming special insight on any life-and-death topic you might wish to discuss. Sadly, social media is literally killing us in the grips of a pandemic as spurious opinions recirculate like feedback trapped in a loop between the mic and speaker of an amplification system. Louder and louder, the opposing views blare until we want to cup our ears with our hands and cry, “No more!”
Regretfully, some individuals who proudly advertise their ignorance in public also include poor God in the argument, using Him as justification for their stance like the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. Nevertheless, before we weaponize the Almighty by coercing His endorsement, we must have a good Scriptural foundation for our claim or else we have “built our house on shifting sand (Matthew 7:26),” waiting for the Creator's natural laws to demolish our statement like a passing storm (Isaiah 28:17).
Unfortunately, some seemingly make blind faith the enemy of wisdom; however, this shortsighted flaw is probably motivated more by spiritual laziness than any other factor due to a lack of knowledge about what the Bible actually says. In the Early Church, wisdom was the most vital component of faith, allowing believers to know exactly what their confidence in God's Word rested on. During the Medieval Period in Asia Minor, the largest church in the world was named the Hagia Sophia... the Beauty of Wisdom.
Thus, let us briefly listen to the voice of Wisdom in Proverbs 8:22-31, “The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; 23I was formed long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the world came to be. 24When there were no watery depths, I was given birth, when there were no springs overflowing with water; 25before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, 26before he made the world or its fields or any of the dust of the earth. 27I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, 28when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep, 29when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. 30Then I was constantly at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, 31rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind (Proverbs 8:22-31 NIV).”
Notice that in the beginning Wisdom said she “delighted in mankind.” How sad today that mankind doesn't delight more in Wisdom!
Why?
Consider Wisdom's final admonition to humanity, “Now then, my children, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways. 33Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not disregard it. 34Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. 35For those who find me find life and receive favor from the Lord (just as Jesus did). 36But those who fail to find me harm themselves; all who hate me love death (Proverbs 8:32-36 NIV).” While faith might go with us through death, yet wisdom actually protects us from death.
In this age of Covid, may we seek more wise counsel from God's Book and less mindless dribble from Facebook. May we cherish the light of divine Wisdom to see what's right, rather than blindly rushing headlong into the night!



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