There are so many good proverbs that inspire and challenge, that it's hard to pick just one (although I have been known to pick two in the same chapter).
Proverbs 17:24 "A discerning man keeps wisdom in view, but a fool's eyes wander to the ends of the earth."
This proverb is a wonderful remidner of the distractions that exist in our world and our ability to keep searching after wisdom (or Wisdom). And as we have explored in other parables, to search for Wisdom is really to be searching for God. It's the search for Jesus. And it is hard to keep that search in view, given all of the distractions we have. The parable of the sower talks about soil with weeds that choke out the seed of God's Word. Those weeds are the worries of this world, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things (Mark 4:18-19). Those are the "ends of the earth" in this proverb. And as long as we are distracted by these things, our formation in Christ is stunted.
Instead, let us keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith. This doesn't mean that we don't participate in the world and stay locked away in our houses.
So, my question for you, is how do we live out lives in the world while we keep Wisdom (and the pursuit of Christ) in view?
Good morning!!!! In the Preface of John Piper's book titled " Desiring God" he quotes C. S. Lewis... "There is a kind of happiness and wonder that makes you serious."(The Last Battle) Piper then goes on to say:
ReplyDelete"This is a serious book about being happy in God. It's about happiness because that is what our Creator commands: "Delight yourself in the Lord!"(Psalm 37:4). And it is serious because, as Jeremy Taylor said, "God threatens terrible things if we will not be happy."
He goes on to say: "The heroes of this book are Jesus Christ, who"endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him"; and St. Paul, who was "sorrowful, yet always rejoicing"; and Jonathan Edwards, who deeply savored the sweet sovereignty of God; and C.S. Lewis, who knew that the Lord "finds our desires not too strong but too weak; and all the missionaries who have left everything for Christ and in the end said, "I never made a sacrifice.""
The long and short of it, as I see it, is we are only most satisfied in our relationship with our Heavenly Father, nothing else compares. The problems come, at least in my life, when I loose sight of this. "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."(Hebrews 12:2)
Lord, keep my eyes fixed on you. Amen.
Wisdom says that what goes on in society, in the culture of the world must correspond to what is true, must correspond to what is said and done in worship-----not the other way around.
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