Good morning, Samara.
I greet you at 4:53am on this very first morning of 2017. Wow! Time sure flies by when you’re having fun. It flies by even when you’re not having fun. It just keeps going and going. But it’s not going NOWHERE—it’s clearly going SOMEWHERE. And that is precisely why it is so important to prepare now for where it’s going. And where is it going? According to Biblical revelation, it’s going to ETERNITY. And ETERNITY has two realms of conscious existence. Of course the one is ETERNAL LIFE. The other is a realm we don’t really like to think about. I’ve never died before, so I’ve never been to either realm before. All I know is what I believe according to this source of Biblical authority—that one realm is incredibly GOOD while the other is incredibly BAD. So which do you want and seek? It’s important to decide NOW. Jesus gave this Word of encouragement and insight: “Enter through the narrow gate (Seeking God, loving God, living to please God—it’s a single-file narrow lifestyle). For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. (Why? Because they just foolishly follow the crowd.) But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). My heart’s desire is that every member of my family, including you, will choose to join with the FEW, not with the MANY.
Without intending to do so, I guess I already went to preaching. I guess it takes almost no effort for me to talk about things I believe are IMPORTANT—particularly when I’m talking to SOMEONE who is IMPORTANT.
In this message, I’ll give attention to yesterday’s reading from Proverbs 31—then hopefully find time before the day is gone to comment on today’s reading in Proverbs 1.
Love, Tua.
It’s not that “A wife of noble character” cannot be found—it’s that such a refined woman is not an accident—she is a rare jewel—not only valuable to herself, to her husband, and to God, but also to her children, to her extended family, and to the entire community at large. As you read this section describing this special lady, and have any desire to become like her, I think it’s very important to START NOW.
There is an important technical point to make here: NO ONE CAN BECOME A PROVERBS 31 WIFE WHO IS NOT TEAMED UP WITH A PROVERBS 31 HUSBAND. Clearly he is also one who has been trained and developed by wisdom and good character so as to seek and find “a wife of noble character”—not just captivated by a pretty face or a beautiful body. And of course it goes the other way: NO PROVERBS 31 WOMAN IS GOING TO BE CAPTIVATED BY A HANDSOME, ATHLETIC, BUFF BODY THAT IS INDEPENDENT OF WISE AND NOBLE CHARACTER. It is said of her, “She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue” (v. 26). Why? Because wise thinking and good advice have already been developed within her own heart and mind. This arrangement plays out to be a proper and positive fulfillment of the old saying that “Birds of a feather flock together.”
This is the voice of wisdom pronouncing the natural life outcome of those who reject wisdom—which boils down to a rejection of God. His obvious desire for His human creatures is that they walk in wisdom—the kind that begins with the FEAR OF THE LORD (v.7). In the margin of my Bible I have written next to verse 29, “Fearing the LORD is a choice.” People clearly have the freedom to choose what they will do, but they do not have the freedom to choose the consequences or results of those choices.
Once again this calls to mind the principle and law of SOWING AND REAPING. I think we may have cited these verses before, but since the shoe fits so well here, let’s do it again: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:7-9).
Please, Samara, don’t ever give up on your CHOICE to love and please God. The rewards are out of this world! Get it? OUT OF THIS WORLD!? Like heaven—like eternal life—like forever. This is not to say that there is not also the promise of wonderful benefits within this world.
Speaking of choices, I’m reminded a great piece of advice I once heard: “MAKE SURE THAT THE CHOICES YOU MAKE TODAY ARE ONES YOU ARE WILLING TO LIVE WITH FOR THE REST OF YOU LIFE. WHY? BECAUSE YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO!”