The Highlands Men have been meeting on Wednesday mornings to work thru the book of Proverbs together. The format is simple. A bunch of dudes at a diner, (the mighty Double S of course), coffee, eggs, and Bibles. It’s been great time and I look forward to it continuing long into the future!
Proverbs is one of the “wisdom” books of the Bible and is written by an older father to instruct a young man in the ways of living by Godly wisdom. Proverbs 1:7 reflects perhaps the main theme of the book – “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge…”
Therefore, in our quest for wisdom we seek the one who created all things, including wisdom – we seek to know God more deeply. But it’s important to know that as we seek God for His wisdom, He is calling out seeking us. He does this through His Word, the Bible.
This week, we started with Proverbs 1:20 which says “Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice…” The passage then goes on for 10 more verses about the consequences of ignoring this call. (Go ahead and read them…they aint pretty!) The consequences of ignoring God’s wisdom can be severe…sometimes fatal. I’m constantly amazed at how badly one can mess up their lives by making unwise decisions. For example, if you drink and drive and kill someone, you have a tragedy that has just changed the course of your life forever. There are consequences of sin that can be far reaching, devastating, even permanent. One of the men at the breakfast asked “Then where is the hope?” There was a twinkle in his eye because he knew the answer.
As severe as consequences for sin can be, there is a deeper spiritual reality in play here. Sin can have physical consequences in this life, but our spiritual consequences for sin can only be removed by repentance and faith in Jesus. John 3:36 tells us this straight up: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3:36 ESV). Our sin fractured the relationship between us and our Creator God, our Heavenly Father. He graciously offers us restoration thru repentance and faith in his son Jesus. Because of who Jesus is and what he has done, our greatest need, restoration with God, can be satisfied.
Like wisdom itself, God is calling out to us to be reconciled to Him thru Jesus. Will you hear his call and turn to him?
