Proverbs 30:1-4. 1The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle. The man declares, I am weary, O God; I am weary, O God, and worn out. 2Surely I am too stupid to be a man. I have not the understanding of a man. 3I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One. 4Who has ascended to heaven and come down?
Do you recall these words from Agur (see November 24)? In his search for wisdom, Agur is completely exhausted. He feels stupid and foolish. If only he could ascend up to Heaven and then come back down to Earth, bringing wisdom with him. But that’s impossible. Right?
Are you looking forward to the New Year with this same kind of exhaustion? Are you facing big decisions that have you feeling stupid at times? Do you long to ascend into Heaven in order to ask God exactly what you should do, what choice or decision you should make?
You may have noticed after spending a year reading Proverbs that there is very little in this book about making specific decisions. Yet many Christians believe that wisdom is about how to make a specific choice, door A or door B.
But the wisdom of God, and the will of God, is much less about knowing what choice to make and much more about knowing how to trust God no matter what choice you make. At the end of the day, God’s wisdom is about forming Christ-like character in us, not telling us which job to take, where to move, which college to attend, or person to marry.
James the brother of Jesus understood this too. He knew what Jesus and Agur knew, that no one was going to ascend to Heaven and bring wisdom down, but Jesus would descend from Heaven as the wisdom of God in the flesh. Look at how James describes God’s wisdom from above:
James 3:17. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
James isn’t just describing an idea – the idea of wisdom. He’s describing a person. His big brother, Jesus.
Jesus was pure – his motivation was always to please God.
Jesus was peaceful – he never sought his own way or fought back.
Jesus was gentle – he never mistreated anyone or was unkind.
Jesus was open to reason – he listened to others yet always spoke the truth.
Jesus was merciful – he never sought revenge, but forgave his enemies.
Jesus was full of good fruits – he went around doing good, and always did what was right.
Jesus was impartial – he was fair and loved everyone impartially, no favorites.
Jesus was sincere – he always meant what he said, without flattery.
In Christ, this is the wisdom of the character of God that dwells in us. Exhibiting these traits is far more important to God than whatever specific decisions you make this year. You can make all the “right choices” and still be an unholy, impatient, closed minded fool. Or you can make some choices that don’t work out yet still build the character of Christ into your soul. Jesus would choose the latter. Would you?
You: What big decisions do you face this upcoming year?
You in Christ: Can you see the character of James 3:17 growing in your life with Christ?
Christ in you: Where can you identify areas of needed change?
Pray: Father, help me to focus on my character and not only my choices this year. Let the character of Christ grow in me through every choice I make. Amen.
To Live is Christ 