Wisdom: Grounded in Truth

wisdom is a precious thing.  who does want to be more intelligent?  clearly the wisdom of this world has a limit.  even more obvious to the believer is that heavenly wisdom is superior.  however, i believe that their is a disconnect between what heavenly wisdom really is.

this occured to me when i read the proverbs of Solomon.  when david was training him to be king, he had a variety of ways that he could teach him.  remember, david spent prolonged periods in the presence and glory of the lord.  he minister to him as a king and a priest.  he revolutionized worship and brought forth some of the most clear revelations of the true heart of god in the old testament.

however, when it came time to teach solomon how to rule, the proverbs reveal a clue to how david went about it.  david gave solomon clear, tangible instructions.  why is this important to note?  at times, we move from being spiritual to being spooky and call it wisdom or hearing god.  INCORRECT. david could have taught solomon about the glory, fasting, miracles…and no doubt he did.  but the thing the david clearly hammered down the most is wisdom.  proverbs is laced with what it takes to be a successful ruler.  clearly prayer and surrender to god are obvious keys.  but if we miss the tangible stuff, we’ll ultimately fail.

i love miracles.  i love having and intrepreting dreams.  i love it when i can perceive that angles have walked into the room.  but there is still very basic wisdom that we need to be able to follow.

here’s the proof:  “I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?” John 3:12

in this passage, jesus was talking to nicodemus about the kingdom of heaven.  the basic principles of how the kingdom of god are revealed by nature.  Seed time and harvest.  Seasons.  Wind blowing.  These principles are natural examples of how God’s world works.  Still, there are things and principles in the kingdom of God that have nothing on earth as an example.  jesus clearly tells nicodemus that if you don’t understand the basics, you won’t catch the higher level stuff.

that doesn’t exclude the spiritual.  WE NEED IT!  jesus’ model prayer said “your will be done, on earth is it is in heaven.”  you know the phrase, “so heavenly minded that you’re no earthly good”?  i understand the context; but i’m know inclined to assign that to being spooky.  biblically speaking it’s impossible to be too heavenly minded.  when we allow heaven to have it’s way through our lives, we become what the earth is crying for (but that’s another note altogether).  we become the gate through which needs are met and lives are restored.

look at sowing and reaping.  that’s a natural law.  when you plant needs you get a crop after it grows.  that’s a natural process that also represents a kingdom reality.  however, the law of blessing (getting the results from someone else even though you didn’t do the work) can’t be seen in sowing and reaping.  you don’t get a huge crop in your yard because the farmer down the way did a lot of work.  but if you don’t understand sowing and reaping, you’ll never understand blessing.

father, open our eyes to how your kingdom works so that we can reap the benefits of it.