The Wisdom We Waste

I find it a great loss that of all the talk that goes on in our day-to-day lives, it is rare to find conversations about what each of us is currently learning (or has learned) from God and the Scriptures. What wealths of wisdom and revelation go to waste because we refrain from sharing what we're learning? How many lessons worth learning stay hidden from us because we don't ask what those near us are being taught?

A good deal of the things we know and do, we know because we heard about it from someone with whom we are acquainted and interact with; our family, friends, coworkers, classmates, etc. Think of all the bands, movies, TV shows, trends, fashions, fads, deals, events, shops, hangouts, churches, clubs, groups, sayings, etc. etc. that You find out about this way. It's immense! Indeed, it seems to me that the good majority of the things we care about we've learned this way.

Why is it, then, that this pattern that seems so normal in most other areas of life has a tendency to stop when  it comes to the topic of what the Lord is teaching us? It would seem all the more important in an area as vital as this and that is the reason i believe the enemy does all which he can to stop us from it. Could it be that we've not learned what we've been taught well enough to have confidence in it, or that (Heaven forbid, but do consider it) we're not learning anything?

If our reason be the first, we ought to dig into the lessons He's currently teaching us (as well as the one's He taught us in the past) until we've truly learned it and can fruitfully multiply it to others. Otherwise, we're in danger of being judged as the servant in the parable of the talents who, after being entrusted with something, "went off, dug a hole... and hid [it]." -Matthew 25:18. He accepted what was given him but did nothing with it. If this servant was judged "wicked and lazy"(v26), how shall we likewise be judged when we do similarly?

We must be very sober if our reason be of the second sort, for if we're not growing closer to and learning more about our God, we're growing colder to Him. There is a general tendency for the things which we neglect to fall out of order and into a worse and worse state of disrepair the longer we ignore them; if we stop working out and eating right, our body becomes less healthy and strong; if we don't tend to our garden often enough, it grows wild and not at all like we want it. It is ever more important then that we tend to and grow in our relationship and understanding of Jesus and the life He has put us in. Or do we take it lightly when He tells us in John 15:2 that "He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit"?

Neither option is available to us if we wish to count ourselves true Christians and followers of Christ. Let us take seriously the lessons that God is teaching us. Let's get excited about them, dig into them, and talk about them. As we do, we'll learn better, learn faster, and learn more than we can now guess at.

So. What are You learning?

Pursue Knowing God - Hosea 6:3

"Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know Him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.” 

-Hosea 6:3

About a month ago, i was reading through the book of Hosea and verse 6:3 caught my eye. Over the course of a few weeks, God kept bringing me back to this passage. Eventually, i went online to a handy little site called biblos.com  (worth checking out for when You want to dig into a Bible passage) and did some research. There were two words that changed how i viewed this verse; radaph and yada.

Where it says "Let us press on to know Him", the word used for press on is the Hebrew word radaph. The definition of radaph is "to pursue, chase, persecute". There's nothing half hearted or laid back about it. It's an aggressive, almost violent word.

The word used for know in both places is the word yada. Yada has a longer list of definitions than radaph and is slightly harder piece into this puzzle but is fascinating when You find it's place. While some of it's definitions include "to acknowledge, to be acquainted with, to be aware of" it was "to know (properly, to ascertain by seeing)" that really stuck out to me. To know by seeing. Think about it.

Reread Hosea 6:3 with those words in mind. The writer says "Let us be very intentional about pursuing knowing God, through both heart and head knowledge but also by seeing Him move with our very own eyes." It's not just enough to know in Your head that God is provider; see in Your life that He is. You might say that, yes, God is a healer, but have You seen it with Your eyes? Hosea invites You to pursue that kind of knowing God.

God wants to be pursued -indeed, He's the one who gives us strength to pursue Him if we ask Him- and He will respond to Your efforts. If You feel as if You've been pouring into Your God-relationship but You're not seeing anything for it, be encouraged! God responds to every bit of effort You put forth. It might not be what You expect or when You expected it but Hosea 6:3 promises if You run after Him, He will reward Your efforts.

Think about it.

The Opportunities Around Us: Snow

"Your love for one another will prove to the
 world that you are my disciples." -John 13:35

Less important part: It snowed today. I spent most of it bundled up inside doing nothing; enjoying the last day of my school break. My day was nearly uneventful until, at 10:30 pm, my mum and i remembered that we had to drop her car off at the shop. I put my bass aside, suited up, got in the car, icy roads, yadda yadda yadda... bunch of things related to me going to mechanic's and dropping off a car but entirely unrelated to the message.

I got home and was going to go inside when i happened to look across the street to where, in about 7 hours, many of my public schooled peers will be shivering in the cold, waiting for a bus to pick them up. God started making me think how uncomfortable it must be standing in the cold and in a few inches of snow. He suggested that maybe i couldn't take the cold away for them, but i could take away the snow.  So at 11:00pm on a Sunday night, i grabbed my snow shovel and started clearing away where they'd have to stand. I then went and shoveled a number of sidewalk; they need not walk in the snow either.

Part worth reading: God had me out there for a good half hour and with every scoop of snow, God kept whispering these ideas in my mind: What would happen if His Church took advantage of this seemly troublesome snowstorm. What if we brought some coffee or bagels out to the kids waiting in the freezing cold for their bus to arrive? Surely that'd be a good time to share the Love of Christ. What if we shoveled our neighbor's driveway and sidewalk, rang the door and told them something along the lines of "Hi! I shoveled Your driveway. I don't want money. What i want is for You to know that Jesus loves You so much."? There are so many different things we could do!

Friends, unbelievers have grown tired of all our talk and church rhetoric. Instead, let's show them the Love of Christ. It might create some inconveniences but the snow is a blessing from God. Let's not let this cold weather pass us by unused.

Our time here is short, but the opportunities around us are endless.