Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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 EDUCATION THAT LEADS TO WISDOM  

  Bible portion: Matthew 7: 27-27 

Verse: 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but  only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. …24 “Everyone, then, who  hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his  house on rock. …26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on  them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 
Devotion
Education helps learners accumulate facts and skills. A wise learner cultivates and integrates critical  thinking, empathy, and ethical reasoning into the learning process, thus delving deeper into reality and  applying knowledge thoughtfully to real-world problems.  
The harmony of hearing and heeding is a problem that Jesus addresses in Matthew 7: 21-27. The way one  lives life exemplifies the degree of one’s honesty in doing what one learns from Christ. Quite simply  because faith that comes from hearing Christ’s word (cf. Romans 10: 17) is dead without deeds (cf. James  2: 14-17). A true disciple / student strives to live the teachings of the teacher.  
The parable of the builders concludes the Sermon on the Mount. While two individuals aspired to build a  house each, one dug deep to lay the house’s foundation on rocks and the other contented with a house built  on ground sans foundation (cf. Luke 6: 47-49). Both houses were struck by rainy winds and torrential  streams. And, predictably, the house sans foundation perished while the house founded on rocks prevailed.  
The metaphor of the house represents life and the natural phenomena life’s realties. The wise and foolish  builders represent serious and non-serious students (of the Word); and the destiny of the houses represents  the respective consequences of their wisdom in real-life that results in loss or gain of eternal life. Fools  relish in listening to the Word but do nothing, whilst the wise learn it all and joyfully sweats to do  everything taught. The parable cryptically reveals this wisdom to be the divine key to the Kingdom of  Heaven (cf. Matthew 7: 21-23). The true wisdom of doing what’s taught in everything, central to all God’s  Word.  
                                     Prayer
O Lord our God, ignite our hearts with reverential fear to be eternal embers of Your wisdom; to  do Your will in this world and to live with you forever in the world to come. Amen. 

Thought for the Day
Leadership is much more than an art, a belief, a condition of the heart, than  a set of things to do. The visible signs of artful leadership are expressed, ultimately, in its practice. - Max De  Pree, Leadership is an Art 

The Rev. ROJI MATHEWS ABRHAM:
The Canadian Mar Thoma Church Toronto

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