22 May 2011

Psalm 24, 29; Wisdom 7:22-8:1; 2 Thess. 2:13-17; Matt. 7:7-14

Take the time to meditate on the aspects of wisdom that are praised in the first two verses, thinking of Jesus in all those attributes. Verse 26 says, “For she is a reflection of eternal light,
a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness.” That sounds remarkably like Hebrews 1.3a, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature…” It sounds also like John 1 and Revelation 21. There are many things in this passage for which we can give praise not to wisdom but to Jesus and the most amazing thing for which to give praise is that by the power of the Holy Spirit living in us, we have the spirit of wisdom available to us always if we will but still our hearts and minds and listen to Him.

What are “good gifts”? The catch in that little phrase is the word good, the most elusive concept in the universe. We believe that we know what good is but there is no good apart from God. What I may think to be “good” for me may actually be the worst thing that could ever happen. In my life I have rejoiced over what I thought was something good that happened only to find later that I was horribly mistaken while when something bad happened it was actually the best thing for me, in that it re-directed my life towards Him. If ever we could learn that there is but one true “good” and set our hearts on Him, it would make all the difference in the world. He is the narrow gate and Jesus says we must come in that way and that way alone.

We were chosen by God, sanctified by the Spirit and belief in the truth. Belief in truth sounds simple and seems not to require much in the way of wisdom but I encourage you today to sit down with the text of the Nicene Creed and slowly walk through it thinking about the phrases and statements of belief that we confess to be “true.” You might be amazed how much of what we believe is based in our faith, something a good bit more than believing that when I trip a switch on the wall of my house that a light will come on. The truth here is a set of beliefs stand over against what seems possible in the world. Standing firm in this faith requires us to rely on the Spirit for the flesh will tell us that these things cannot be true. Standing firm in this faith should give us a different perspective on the world than those who do not believe, it should also give us a different set of values, it should make us thankful.

All creatures of our God and King

Lift up your voice and with us sing,

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Thou burning sun with golden beam,

Thou silver moon with softer gleam!

O praise Him! O praise Him!

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!