The Wisdom and the Grace of God - Proverbs 22-24 and II Corinthians 8
As you read these three chapters of Proverbs, think about all of the wisdom of God that is contained in these verses. There is no way anyone could acquire all of this wisdom by himself or herself in a whole lifetime of experiences, and even if a person could acquire it on his or her own, it would be too late to apply it correctly. That is why God does not want us to live by experience. He wants us to live by His revelation of Himself and His wisdom to us. He wants to give us what we need when we need it. In fact, He wants to give us more than we deserve and need when we need it. That is grace. God knows that the only way we can have what we need for life is by having His wisdom and grace, so He gives it to us freely. The only requirement is that we put our trust in Him as Lord and Savior and we walk with Him each day. What a wonderful God He is! Most people reject this graciousness of God, and they decide to live by their own understanding. That way of living puts a person in constant need of more, when God's children can live in abundance of wisdom and grace.
Paul gives us a great example of this in II Corinthians 8. The Christians of Asia were being asked to take up a collection for the Jewish believers in Israel, because they had a great need for money. This was a way of showing the grace of God. God had blessed some people with more than enough to live by His grace, and now they could share that grace with others in need, so they would have enough, too. That is wise and gracious at the same time. Paul did not receive that gift himself, but he sent Titus and another brother, so that no one would think he was getting any of the money. That was very wise, too. God had shown Paul His wisdom and grace, so he was leading the other believers to act in God's wisdom and grace to meet the needs of their fellow believers. God has blessed us, so we can be a blessing to others. In this way, we are like Him, and we spread His wisdom and grace. I pray that all of us will live by the wisdom and grace of God, realizing that no matter how smart we are or how rich we are, we never have enough without God's wisdom and grace.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Proverbs 25-26 and II Corinthians 9.
Paul gives us a great example of this in II Corinthians 8. The Christians of Asia were being asked to take up a collection for the Jewish believers in Israel, because they had a great need for money. This was a way of showing the grace of God. God had blessed some people with more than enough to live by His grace, and now they could share that grace with others in need, so they would have enough, too. That is wise and gracious at the same time. Paul did not receive that gift himself, but he sent Titus and another brother, so that no one would think he was getting any of the money. That was very wise, too. God had shown Paul His wisdom and grace, so he was leading the other believers to act in God's wisdom and grace to meet the needs of their fellow believers. God has blessed us, so we can be a blessing to others. In this way, we are like Him, and we spread His wisdom and grace. I pray that all of us will live by the wisdom and grace of God, realizing that no matter how smart we are or how rich we are, we never have enough without God's wisdom and grace.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Proverbs 25-26 and II Corinthians 9.