Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
Seeking the Wisdom of God
“But
whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night”
I
was always inspired by the serenity prayer by Reinhold Niebhur, “God,
grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change
the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference”. According to theologians,
the book of Psalms is a much fascinating prayer book, which was the Hymnal of
the Israelites, rich with poems on ethics, life styles, and decision making. It
is a book with heavenly wisdom. As many of us know, wisdom has to do with
living life consistent with God's covenants and a key concept of the Godly
wisdom is the fear of the Lord. Psalms and proverbs provide us with such
covenantal standards that can greatly keep us in check. Psalm 1 is no
exemption. Psalmist warns us to keep away from the un-Godly, to keep a clear
distance from the people who have conformed to the standards of this world. The
pressures of the modern world reveal our inability, and our great need for
emotional and spiritual help. We were given the scripture, where Godliness is
presented positively and it fully enlightens us if we savor it and then walk in
it.
During my childhood years, my grandmother and later my mother insisted on
learning a few of the Psalms by heart, the beginning ones being Psalm 1 and
Psalm 23. I am sure many of the traditional Christian families insisted on such
Biblical homework that clearly helped us to lead a fruitful life in many
aspects. I was always fascinated by the history of those whom the world tagged
as “wise men” What happened to those great people? Even more, what happened to
those experts in the Scriptures? What happened to the ones who thought they
have all the answers? This is where we realize the meaning of the verse
“…wisdom of this world is foolish”. What Mahatma Gandhi has stated is of
relevance here, “It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy
to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.” God
chose to save the ones who believe the foolish message we Christians preach.
From my teen years, I clearly remember a blind man from my neighborhood in
Kerala, who used to walk to the junction and stood and preached from the Bible.
Although very simple in style, his sermons were very inspiring, and I was often
touched by his messages. Being blind, he did not see the faces of the people,
nor the number of people who were listening to him. To a passer-by, it was
probably a scene that did not add much value to his/her behavior, but to some
who cared, the blind man’s words were words of wisdom.
We
ought to change our mentalities from nominal Christians to practical day-to-day
Christians with a fully established Christ-relational lifestyle that require
humility, spiritual wisdom, and prayerful walking. Let us pray consistently and
seriously to our Lord to provide us the humility and readiness to accept and
understand His wisdom and convert from worldly to Godly enlightenment.
Thought for
the Day: ‘Those who
delight in the Lord will depend on the Word’
Prayers: Loving God, Help us to depend on your
spirit to guide us through all truth and wisdom. Amen.
Dr. Eapen Daniel, Christos MTC, Philadelphia.