Reactions

To avoid a particular reaction a preferred action is required. A man cannot take fire to his bosom and not get burnt unless he is dressed in fire-protection gear; life has many such lessons it teaches us along the way. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and even some of the Psalms are written with such intent. They teach us how to avoid foolish responses to any given circumstance, teaching us to apply wisdom as the underlying motivator. Which when overlooked can all be summed up in this manner, “there is a way that seems right unto a man but the end thereof is death”. Unless we spend time studying those portions of scripture how will we ever know what it is that our “sister” wisdom looks to communicate? She is very wise; “Say to wisdom, "You are my sister," and call insight your intimate friend…” (Proverbs 7:4) – It is the insight of wisdom that steers the hearer away from certain death. It is all about our reaction to the knowledge we receive at any given time and it’s our reaction which proves our understanding in every facet of our lives. It is rather simple to work out if we would only be honest with ourselves, whilst looking to wisdom for guidance. We firstly need to trust God’s Word and then commit to it.

Although Solomon teaches us that if we take fire to our bosom we will get burnt, our intellects teach us that this is an obvious conclusion, even a fool would understand that. But we must always look a little deeper if we are to begin to take Wisdom seriously. There is the obvious lesson and then there are lessons within the message. However in order to see that our eyes must first be opened spiritually, we must be born again! However it does not stop there, that is only the beginning.    

Some of our lessons through the throes of life have been experiential and so some have had to learn the hard way, whilst others have simply applied the truth of God’s Word to their lives and are at peace. Solomon was a man who personally tested the arenas of his life and although he learnt much, with it came much despair. He has experientially skilled life, both the good and the bad, it shouldn’t be necessary for us to make the same mistake, although many of us do. Thankfully our Father is a gracious God, He is patient with us, praise His name! Science teaches us that with every action there is a reaction; so, should it be any different for us?

The Bible is filled with examples of a man having two choices and the outcome is always the same; folly and wisdom on offer, sadly our sinful nature often drive us towards folly, but now that we have been saved and are the children of God we have wisdom on our side and it is freely available. However every day we are faced with choices that will always have consequences attached to them…

The Lord Jesus often responded favourably to the recipient’s request with the right approach. Let me explain; if we read through the gospels we soon learn that a person’s attitude, when applied in faith was never overlooked by the Lord Jesus. But for me to drive home my point it would become beneficial to look at some examples a little further into this post.

A person’s faith was often the motivating factor that got the man Jesus to react sympathetically and although He has risen from the dead and is seated at the right hand of God it has always been about believing God at His Word. Faith in our God is the overarching ingredient that drives us to make the right decisions, which finds the complimentary outcome to any given circumstance. We must all be driven by faith as it is the only way we will ever find peace with God; “It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” (Romans 3:26-28) – Simply put, our dependency must always end with the Lord Jesus’ accomplishments and not our independence.  We must learn to depend on Him in every area of our lives. We must believe God at His Word. This must be our boast, that we believe God! If He has said it, it shall come to pass. Faith eliminates ifs and buts from every equation; doubt on the other hand generates exactly that.

Let me now drive home my point; there was a centurion soldier who was not part of the household of Israel but he teaches us how to apply ourselves to a particular dilemma he faced. Observe - “When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly." And he said to him, "I will come and heal him." But the centurion replied, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, "Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.” (Matthew 8:5-10)

“The centurion was a great man, yet he owned his unworthiness before God. Note, Humility very well becomes persons of quality. Christ now made but a mean figure in the world, yet the centurion, looking upon him as a prophet, yea, more than a prophet, paid him this respect. Note, we should have a value and veneration for what we see of God, even in those who, in outward condition, are every way our inferiors. The centurion came to Christ with a petition, and therefore expressed himself thus humbly. Note, in all our approaches to Christ, and to God through Christ, it becomes us to abase ourselves, and to lie low in the sense of our own unworthiness, as mean creatures and as vile sinners, to do any thing for God, to receive any good from him, or to have any thing to do with him.

3. Observe his great faith. The more humility the more faith; the more diffident we are of ourselves, the stronger will be our confidence in Jesus Christ. He had an assurance of faith not only that Christ could cure his servant, but,

(1.) That he could cure him at a distance. There needed not any physical contact, as in natural operations, nor any application to the part affected; but the cure, he believed, might be wrought, without bringing the physician and patient together. We read afterwards of those, who brought the man sick of the palsy to Christ, through much difficulty, and set him before him; and Christ commended their faith for a working faith. This centurion did not bring his man sick of the palsy, and Christ commended his faith for a trusting faith: true faith is accepted of Christ, though variously appearing: Christ puts the best construction upon the different methods of religion that people take, and thereby has taught us to do so too. This centurion believed, and it is undoubtedly true, that the power of Christ knows no limits, and therefore nearness and distance are alike to him. Distance of place cannot obstruct either the knowing or working of him that fills all places.”  (Matthew Henry)

In like manner we must value the words of God as our final authority to any given quandary we face in our daily lives and we must not only believe what is written but learn to apply the necessary instruction to our lives. This will prove that we are learning to apply wisdom to our lives and it will also show God that we believe Him at His word.

Signing off

Tyrone