Insightful Musings on theScriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Good afternoon, dear people.

Thano should be arriving from work any minute. We plan to load stuff up and head to the Columbia River to try out his sailing kayak. Should be interesting.

Oh here he is. I’d better go. We don’t really have that much time.

Blessing. Dad/Ray.

Without a doubt, understanding is of vital importance if I am to engage in any task worth doing, and do it well. I need to understand how the task works and why it needs to be done the way I’m called upon to do it. My saw mill, for example, is a rather technical piece of equipment. With full hydraulic log loading and handling, a computerized sawhead, a broad range of blade types for different wood types, maintaining blade tension, regulating the speed of cut, along with the overall vulnerability of the machine to wear, tear, and breakdown—there really is a lot to coordinate and know. I’m inclined to believe that the best tutor for competence is, in fact, experience. That being the case, I can think back with a measure of shame over some of the work I did with this operation in the early stages of my experience. I’ve heard of some disgruntled customers giving an unbecoming nickname to the production of an inexperienced sawyer like myself back then—“Thick and Thin Lumber Company”—in other words, we’re talking about inaccurate and irregular lumber quality.

Living a victorious, “accurate,” and consistent Christian life is not quite the same as running a saw mill, but there are some things that must be understood about how it all works, and why it needs to done in the way the Bible prescribes. To be sure, there is no substitute for experience. Textbook theory and classroom learning are simply not enough.

UNDERSTANDING is the aim and goal of the author and counselor in Proverbs 2 as he seeks to give advice to his inexperienced son. He puts forth a series of if-clause commands that are linked with two THENS—both of which generate UNDERSTANDING. “…THEN you will UNDERSTAND the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God” (Proverbs 2:5). “THEN you will UNDERSTAND what is right and just and fair—every good path” (Proverbs 2:9).