Reading With the People of God #14 Proverbsنموونە

Words of Wisdom and Comfort

A proverb a day is like the saying: "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." Each chapter and verse contains snippets of wisdom. If taken in these words, it will keep us on the right path. They will bring us knowledge and understanding and prevent folly. This chapter contains insights on true riches that last, training your children, and how to avoid pitfalls that lead to poverty. There is even a bonus, Sayings of the Wise, instructing us to listen and apply to our heart what is taught.

In the first section, 2 Corinthians 5, Paul compares our bodies to tent dwellings. We know bodies can become sick, broken, and eventually fail altogether. He says we groan and are burdened, longing for perfection. He uses the tent to illustrate that our earthly lives are temporary. In contrast, Paul compares our heavenly bodies to a building from God. This heavenly body will be permanent and eternal. He continues describing this dwelling as a garment we will be clothed in; without it, one would be found naked before God.

By faith, we take confidence in this promise. God gave us His Holy Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what will come. When our earthly body dies, our soul is wrapped in our new body, and we will be with our Lord forever. And so we should, in light of this, live our lives to please God, remembering that we will stand before Christ and give an account for the things done in our earthly bodies.

Paul begins this next section by saying that since we know the fear of the Lord, how should we live out our mortal lives? That is to say, we should have a healthy respect for who God is and that it is on His terms we come to Him. We know that we are sinners saved by the grace and mercy of Christ Jesus. In Christ, we are a new creation; the old is gone. Let it go; stop holding on to the old stuff. We have been reconciled in Christ. This is great news. Our slates have been wiped clean, and we have gotten a fresh start. Therefore, we should be compelled to share this hope in Christ with those around us.

We have been commissioned as Christ's ambassadors to go out with this message of hope.

*Primer contributed by Laurie Harry, Artist, Member of Cornerstone Community Church of Chowchilla