Virtues
Wisdom – The Path of Peace
Do you know someone who is wise? Someone who truly possesses wisdom? Plainly, wisdom is part common sense, and part keen insight. Wisdom is careful and measured. It operates on the basis of knowledge and truth. Just living life brings a measure of wisdom which is one reason to show respect and honor to those older than yourself and never look down on them.
A great deal of wisdom can be gained by living a courageous life. If you’ve ever sat down with a WWII Veteran or spoke with a person that grew up during the Great Depression, you learn this fast. They typically have a depth of wisdom, rooted in the love of God and, while not necessarily Christian, it is clearly from above as it is selfless.
“The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.” James 3:17
In these ways, the great peacemakers of the world have demonstrated wisdom sourced in God. Gandhi, Mandela, the Dali Lama to name a few.
But there is yet higher wisdom that is revealed in scripture, imparted by God to His children, the ‘hidden wisdom of God.’
“. . . among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glorification. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. But, as it is written, “what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love Him” (Isaiah 64:4, 65:17) God has revealed to us through the Spirit. . . . And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom, but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who possess the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:6–15).
The wisdom the Apostle Paul is describing is embodied in Jesus Christ. “… Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:24
To know Jesus is to know the wisdom of God, for He revealed God to man as the Incarnate Son of God. “No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.” John 1:18
This is the wisdom to seek, dear one, as you move through life, the wisdom of God, learned and imparted through the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus understood God, for He is God the Son, God incarnate. And Jesus understood mankind, as it says in John 2:25, “No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person’s heart..”
For as you grow in wisdom you will become humbly equipped to “tell his people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins… (and) give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.” (Luke 1:77, 79)
Whatever direction God leads you in life, cultivate the virtue of divine wisdom and tenderly help others find the path of peace.
Sincerely,
