Read: Rom. 11:33-36
Reflect: The older I get, the more stupid I realize I naturally am. It is a gift, but has nothing to do with this past birthday. They lit the candles and the smoke alarm in the apartment went off (that is a true story). My realization of my lack of wisdom means growing in understanding how little I know in comparison to my Heavenly Father Who knows everything. He is Wisdom.
you are seeing things from a merely human point of view
I can totally relate to the Disciple Peter when he thought he knew better than Jesus. In Mark chapters 8, 9 & 10, three time Jesus told His disciples that He would suffer, die and rise from the dead. This didn’t fit into Peter’s “wise” view of eschatology: that the Messiah would come, set His Kingdom up and that the Jews’ mortal enemies, the Romans, would be toast. Peter was irritated that Jesus kept bringing up the subject of His death and actually reprimanded Jesus by saying, “‘Heaven forbid, Lord,’ he said. ‘This will never happen to You!’ Jesus turned to Peter and said… ‘You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.’” (Matthew 16: 22-23)
wisdom ready for the trash heap
The wisdom originating from the human point of view is finite in scope, has no creative power behind it, and is ready for the trash heap. Compare it to the majestic description of our eternal, creative, holy and wise God in Job 28:24-28, “For He (God) looks to the ends of the earth; He sees everything under the heavens. When He imparted weight to the wind, and assessed the waters by measure, when He made a limit for the rain, and a course for the thunderbolt, then He saw it and declared it; He established it and also searched it out. And to mankind He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
the beginning of wisdom
Did you get that last point? To turn away from evil and utter revere and respect our Creator God is the beginning of wisdom. We don’t come by this naturally because to our own sin-blinded, self-indulgent eyes God’s wisdom is hidden. “Where then does wisdom come from? And where is this place of understanding? It is hidden from the eyes of every living creature, and concealed from the birds of the sky.” (Job 28:20-21)
In the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy & crew headed to the Emerald City to get answers to all their questions. They sought the Wizard, who was revered as the source of all wisdom. What they discovered behind the curtain was a huge disappointment. If you imagine God as a wise old wizard, please drop it. God has never learned wisdom, God is wisdom itself. “Creatures gain wisdom by growing and learning, by interacting with the world in time and space. But that’s not the way God is wise. He does not need to acquire wisdom. The wisdom of God defines God’s self. He has exhaustive, comprehensive knowledge and understanding of all that is, but not by deduction or calculation. Since all things exist and act by His decree, since God is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, since He fills the universe and is alike present at once to all creatures at all times, all things are equally plain and comprehended by Him.” (David Strain, Ligonier Ministries)
when i started on the road to wisdom
The minute I realized that I can never figure out life without totally submitting to the wisdom of my Eternal Father is when I started on the road to wisdom. Doesn’t matter how many candles burn on my cake, wisdom doesn’t come with age. Wisdom comes only from God. Amen and amen!
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