Insightful Musings on theScriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Hello, dear ones.

Interesting day. Among other things, I attended a men’s breakfast this morning, then had a conference with a new business owner in Molalla in need of some signs. Two little boys are here with us for the weekend, so the house is rocking. I squeezed in a 15-minute old man nap after lunch. Now I need to figure out how to do the rest of the day. I thought I was supposed to speak at the jail this eve—but there were some schedule changes that turned out to relieve me this time. I’m slated to share some more of our missionary perspective tomorrow morning at church—so getting ready for that needs to be front and center.

Have a good rest of your day doing what you need to do. Be blessed.

Love, Dad/Ray.

This statement of principle is as valid in relation to our Heavenly Father as it is in relation to our earthly fathers. I, as one little earthly father, know something of the pain at seeing one of my own children disregard my advice that I know is wise. The pain part kicks in when I am forced to watch them pay for it. Of course, I also know something of the pleasure I feel at seeing my children respond well to appropriate discipline and wise instruction. If that is so in my own experience, I reason that it must also be so with my Heavenly Father as well—that I have the potential of rendering pain or pleasure to my Heavenly Father—depending on how well I respond to His loving discipline and instruction.

It only makes sense that if the Sovereign God is accurately represented as a loving Heavenly Father as described in the Scriptures, He would not just leave us instruction-less—abandon us to flounder around down here without any resources of instruction and guidance. The historical evidence is that he has always been attentive to the honest cry of human hearts—capable of orchestrating influences to guide sincere seekers into relationship with Himself. It is in the vein of miraculous that we now have preserved and so abundantly available the written Word of God in the form of Bibles. Paul speaks on behalf of that body of divinely inspired literature claiming, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). So it only makes further sense that if this is true—that this body of instruction is actually inspired and authored by our Heavenly Father and recorded via the medium of some of His submissive children—then we are given huge amounts of reason to respond by being A WISE SON WHO HEEDS HIS FATHER’S INSTRUCTION.

Let me point out a principle that makes further sense. I’ll base this point on the premise that God is wise, those who were inspired to record Scripture were wise, and those who join together with others who sincerely believe these precepts are wise. Therefore, we are given an almost fool-proof strategy for ourselves becoming wise: “He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools (those who, for whatever reason, are not God-seekers, and/or do not spend time in the fellowship of the wise) suffers harm” (Proverbs 13:20).