Wisdom

We all may seek wisdom, but do we know it when we find it?

While he was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, "Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!" But he said, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!" When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, "This generation is an evil generation; it asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be to this generation. The queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here! The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here! "No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar, but on the lampstand so that those who enter may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light; but if it is not healthy, your body is full of darkness. Therefore consider whether the light in you is not darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be as full of light as when a lamp gives you light with its rays." - Luke 11:27-36

Where does wisdom come from?

Is it the light that shines from within, or does it come from somewhere else?

Jesus says it begins with hearing God's word and obeying it.

The people of Nineveh were not particularly wise, but they heard the warning from Jonah and obeyed.

What made them choose to believe Jonah?

Maybe they were just being practical. What have I got to lose?  I can repent and turn myself around or I can stay as I am.  

If I like who I am I might choose to stay, but if I feel there is something missing, why not listen and try?

The wisdom we seek may be that simple, that practical.  Give it a go?

Why not?

We tend to thin of the things we give up when we choose the path of righteousness, but maybe that isn't the whole picture.  Maybe we should look for those things we couldn't see until we stood in the light.

Wisdom is looking into the unknown and seeing the light to guide the way in the darkness.

We know the darkness exists, and if we focus on that, we may never see the light.  But just as our eyes need to adjust in the darkness so we can see the small amount of light, we need to stop and be still.

Once we have adjusted to the environment around us, we can begin to see all that was not visible before.

More to come...