Inside Out

What’s in your heart? Sometimes we can look good on the outside, but the inside is something else. The Pharisees were experts at this, polishing up the outside to hide the inside (Mark 12:41-44; Matthew 23:23-28; 6:1-18). In the final analysis, though, I suppose I am also good at this, and I suspect most of us are. But God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7; Romans 2:16; Hebrews 4:12,13). And what is naturally inside us is sin (Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 7:14; Isaiah 64:6). The problem is, it is not easy to change the heart. Simply gritting one’s teeth and trying harder does not work. A detailed knowledge of the rules does not do it. Self-help schemes fail. And just faking it is not good enough. We need the gospel.

The gospel says that Jesus Christ paid the whole price for sin (1 Peter 2:24,25; Colossians 2:13,14; 2 Corinthians 5:21) and we are saved through faith in Him (Ephesians 2:8,9; Romans 4:4,5; Philippians 3:9). This opens the way for God to begin to change us from the inside out (Ezekiel 36:25-27; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 2:10). Which is motivated by our love for God for what He has done for us (1 John 4:19; 2 Corinthians 5:14,15; Titus 2:11-14), not just to please other people outwardly (Galatians 1:10; Proverbs 29:25; 1 Corinthians 4:3-5). This means that change comes from inside us, rooted in our heart, moved by the love of God, and is not just something we act out externally. Now it does require a response on our part, in being willing to go along with what God is doing in our lives (Galatians 5:16; Colossians 2:6,7; Romans 12:1,2). But this is not something we work up or fake, but something we trust God for (Proverbs 3:5,6; Psalms 127:1,2; 37:3-6). Now this is a process that takes place over time and requires our effort (Philippians 3:12-16; 1 Timothy 4:7,8; Hebrews 12:1,2). But it is God who provides the power to do it (2 Peter 1:3; Colossians 1:29; Philippians 2:13). Therefore God is at work in us to transform us. And it starts by changing what we set our heart on (Colossians 3:1-4; 2 Corinthians 3:2,3; Matthew 12:34,35).  For where our heart goes, the rest of us will follow.

Writing Our Own Story

I confess, I want to be the writer of my own story. I think this is a tendency true of all of us. I am willing to serve God, but I want to do it my way and under my conditions. I would even be willing to endure great toil and make large sacrifices. But I want to be able to define the toil and the sacrifices. But God does not work that way. God wants us to submit to His will and do what He wants, the way He wants. He wants us to undertake the toil He calls us to, even if it does not make sense to us that this is what we should be doing. He calls us to make the sacrifices He wants us to make, which may not fit our desire for dignity and recognition. God requires that He be the author of the story. Take Moses; he was ready to work to deliver his people. He thought he knew what needed to be done and was willing to take risks to do it. But God sent him into the desert to herd sheep for forty years before He commissioned him to go back and deliver his people. David was anointed king and killed Goliath, but sent many years running from King Saul before he came into his kingdom. Then he wanted to build God a temple, but was told his son would do it rather than him. Saul, later to be the Apostle Paul, was converted to Christianity and was zealous to serve the faith he had persecuted. But he ended up spending years in Tarsus before being sent out on his great missionary journeys. God always does things His way.  

It is important to remember that God is in control of the world and is working all things together for our good (Ephesians 1:11; 2:10; Romans 8:28). But our good does not necessarily mean what we want or how we think things should work out. And frequently our good involves being willing to put God and His glory before what we want (1 Corinthians 10:31; 2 Corinthians 12:9; Colossians 3:23,24). But this is not always easy. I would find the story of the wanderings of the Israelites in the wilderness hard to believe if I did not see the same things in my own life. It is easy in each new situation to forget God’s past deliverances and to grumble and complain about what God is requiring me to face now. This is true even though God has brought me through in the past time and time again. I think ultimately we just have to trust that God has a plan for our lives even if we do not understand what He is doing at the moment (Proverbs 3:5,6; Hebrews 11:13-16; Habakkuk 3:17-19). Easy to write, but not always easy to do.

What Is Wisdom?

What is wisdom? And how do we get it? Biblical wisdom is not simply knowledge or the accumulation of facts (2 Timothy 3:7; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; Colossians 2:8). Nor is it simply a matter of God putting knowledge into your head. (God can do that, but that is not what wisdom is.) In the classic illustration of wisdom, Solomon was confronted with two women claiming the same child (1 Kings 3:16-28). God did not simply drop into Solomon’s mind which was the right woman. Rather, Solomon used his knowledge of human nature to determine which was the mother. Wisdom, therefore, does not primarily consist in the obtaining of new knowledge but in the ability to use the knowledge we have.  Therefore, when we pray for wisdom (James 1:5), we are not asking God to zap us with truth, but for God to give us the ability to properly use the knowledge we have.

Where, then, do we get wisdom? The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God  (Proverbs 1:7; Romans 1:22,23; Colossians 2:2,3). It also is found in God’s Word (Psalms 19:7; 119:97-100, 1:1,2). But there can be a problem here. It is possible to simply acquire information on spiritual things without obtaining real wisdom. Now I do not believe you can know God without knowing about Him (Jeremiah 9:23,24; 1 John 4:1-6; Isaiah 43:10). But knowing God and having the wisdom that comes from that involves more than just knowing information (1 Corinthians 2:1-5; 1 John 4:7,8; John 13:17). So how do we go from merely possessing information to real wisdom?

The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. This means that we need to understand God’s greatness and His holiness. Now it does say in Scripture that perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18). But the problem is, we want to shortcut the process. We need to walk in the steps of Isaiah who saw a vision of the glory of God and realized he was a man of unclean lips (Isaiah 6:1-8). Then God forgave Isaiah’s sin and called Isaiah to be His prophet. We need to start by recognizing that we are sinners (Romans 3:23; Isaiah 64:6; Jeremiah 17:9) and that God is holy (Romans 1:18; Matthew 5:48; 1 Peter 1:17). But Christ paid the price (1 Peter 1:18,19; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 2:13,14) so that those who put their faith in Him (Ephesians 2:8,9; Romans 4:4,5; Philippians 3:9) can come with confidence into the presence of God (Romans 8:31-39; 1 John 4:17; Hebrews 4:16). However, if we try to bypass this and approach God without a realization of His holiness and our unworthiness, we can fail to develop a real understanding of who God is. For paradoxically, the way to wisdom is humility (Matthew 18:1-6; Luke 18:9-17; Proverbs 16:18). For it is only as we realize how little we really know (1 Corinthians 3:18; 8:1-3; Proverbs 26:12), that we become open to learning what God wants to teach us.