Freedom

Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves steemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. Isaiah 53:4 (NASB) Yet He Himself bore our sicknesses, and He carried our pains; but we in turn regarded Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. Isaiah 53:4 (HCSB) As I read this verse in a couple of different translations this morning, a thought began to form in my mind. When sin entered this world, it brought with it all sorts of terrible consequences. Many of them are things we live with day in and day out, sometimes without really even thinking about them. The truth is that they all come down to sin. Not necessarily individual sins, but the sin that presses down on this earth like an oppressive blanket, leading the whole planet to ultimate death. The further truth is that Christ came to bear that oppression. All of it. I focus often on the fact that He died for my sins - the things that I've done wrong. But, He took it all upon Himself! Not just the sins, but the nature of sin in this world. When I am told to be anxious for nothing (Phil 4:6), to cast my cares upon Him (1 Pet 5:7), and to take His yoke upon me (Matt 11:29-30), He is reminding me of the fact that He took the entire burden of sin upon Himself. Walking in this dying world is not an easy thing, and if I follow in Christ's footsteps I will suffer while I'm here. But I am challenged to constantly remember that I'm not bound by that suffering. I'm bound to Christ who has already taken it all upon Himself! No wonder Paul called our sufferings light and momentary (2 Cor 4:17)!

Delayed Reward

The wise will inherit honor, but fools display dishonor. Prov 3:35 (NASB) I was always a perfectionistic people pleaser who hated to upset people but loved to make them proud. I've somewhat eased off of that - in a good way, I hope - and tried to lean more to the idea of pleasing God instead. One thing that stood out to me as I read this verse, though, was that sometimes the biggest sign that I'm walking in the wisdom of the Lord might be the lack of immediate reward. It might be that people don't respond well to what I say and do. To inherit something indicates a delay - a bestowal at a later time. That can be hard for me, because a lot of times I feel the need for reinforcement that I'm truly saying and doing the right thing. I must not seek that reinforcement in honor bestowed by man. I must seek that reinforcement in the more abstract - the peace granted me by my Father when I am walking in Him. That in and of itself is my confirmation, and the reward will come when I am able to live for eternity in His presence.

Active, not Passive

1 My son, if you will receive my words And treasure my commandments within you, 2 Make your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline your heart to understanding; 3 For if you cry for discernment, Lift your voice for understanding; 4 If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures; 5 Then you will discern the fear of the LORD And discover the knowledge of God. Prov 2:1-5 (NASB) I love James 1:5. There are so many times, especially in the journey of parenthood it seems, that I long for just a morsel of wisdom. God promises that all I have to do is ask, and it will be given to me. What a comfort! As with so many things in Scripture, though, we take that so passively. "If I'll just ask, then all I have to do is sit back and wait and He'll give it to me!" We even take James 2:6-8 passively, thinking that we can just avoid doubt and we'll be fine. But, if we combine the verses in James with these verses in Proverbs, we see anything but passive requesting. We see words like receive, treasure, make, incline, cry, lift, seek, and search. Those are action words! They are outlined in this Proverbs passage to show that work must follow the request. Even once the wisdom is given, we are told to use it to be active in our use of it - to discern and discover. I'm asking for wisdom today. As I ask, I must dig into God's Word, actively open my eyes and ears to take note of wisdom showing herself all around me, and then put that wisdom into practice when it is revealed to me. I must act on my request. And, I'm just feeling the excitement right now as I realize that this activity is energized by the Spirit Himself. Wow!