Verse of the day: 1 Corinthians 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the
world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have
been freely given to us by God.
The simplest way I know how to explain wisdom is
the ability to apply what we have understood, based on the facts we have
gathered. Whether that wisdom is godly or worldly will largely depend on the
source of our facts, and whether our understanding comes from God or the world.
James 3:13-17 reads as follows:
13 Who is wise
and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in
your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure,
then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits,
without partiality and without hypocrisy.
We see a lot of unrest around us, and sadly, we have
to admit that we see too many of us “Christians” who are lacking godly wisdom
in how we are responding to the way the world is behaving, and how we are
approaching the challenges that God is allowing into our lives, as a result of
this unrest. The fact of the matter is that the world is getting further away
from God as the time of His return draws nearer and nearer. Matthew 24:6-12
reads as follows:
6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not
troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is
not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All
these are the beginning of
sorrows.
9 “Then
they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by
all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will
hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And
because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
In these times, we who are truly born again believers
should not be surprised by what is taking place, and therefore should not be
responding in the same manner as the world is responding. The biggest reason
for this is that we have been given the Spirit of God who enables us to discern
that which is spiritual, while the unsaved is unable to because they have not
the Spirit of God (v. 13-16). As God’s children, we are able to receive and
understand the deep things of God that He has already revealed to us in His
Word (v. 9-11). Before we came to know Jesus as Savior we had very little, if
any, knowledge of man’s depravity; and we knew nothing of who God really is.
The Jews had the Old Testament Scriptures, yet even the most religious of them
formed the wrong picture of who God is, and who Jesus is, as evidenced by their
rejection of Him as their Messiah. We must be careful that we, as His children,
do not do the same thing. God has given us His Spirit, and made us new
creatures in Christ. As a result, we should no longer see God or man from a
worldly perspective, but now have a new perspective; a heavenly one (2 Cor
5:16-17). Now that we have the Spirit of God indwelling us, we should gain a
better understanding of what it means to be a born again child of God. We
should be gaining knowledge about what it means to be justified (declared not
guilty) by God, in Christ. We should have a better understanding of what it
means to go through the process of sanctification (being made more like Christ),
and how the trials that God allows plays a part in this. Godly wisdom is the
result of knowing what to do with all this biblical knowledge and understanding
we are gaining. However, how do we gain this knowledge and understanding if we
are not spending real time in God’s Word, and actually making it a priority in
our lives? How do we gain wisdom if we are too busy listening to the world and
blindly following its wisdom and our own fleshly desires? It is no wonder that
we seem no wiser than the world in the way we approach life, behave toward one
another, or respond to all that is going on around us, when we spend little time
seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives, especially if it
contradicts our own desired outcome. It is high time that we start applying the
wisdom of God to our lives and stop falling for every wind of doctrine that
comes our way; that is appealing to our own selfish wants. As Christians, our
views of the world, and its behavior, should set us apart, not make us fit in.
It is a shame that during a time when we have been given the greatest
opportunity to be witnesses for Jesus; instead, we have chosen to fit in for
the sake of not offending the world and avoid persecution. The bottom line is
that regardless of how much unrest there is in the world, the child of God
should have peace, and joy, because we have the truth of God’s Word, and the
Spirit of God, who not only helps us to gain godly knowledge, but also gives us
understanding, and helps us to apply that truth in a godly manner, and from a
heavenly perspective. As if that were not enough, we have eternity spent with
our Living Hope which is Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior to look forward to.
No comments:
Post a Comment