Who is like the wise man? Who knows the explanation of things? Wisdom brightens a man’s face and changes its hardened appearance. ~Ecclesiastes 8:1
To the Jews who had believed Him, Jesus said, “if you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” ~John 8:31-32
This is what the LORD says, He who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it—the LORD is His name: “Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” ~Jeremiah 33:2-3
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given. ~James 1:5
Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. He does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him. ~1 John 2:9-11
In cartoons, it’s pretty common to depict a lightbulb coming on when someone gets the point or comes up with an idea. “Wisdom brightens a man’s face and changes its hardened appearance.” (And Solomon didn’t even know about light bulbs!) Learning or gaining understanding can be such a life changer. You can learn a short cut that can save you time. You can learn some keystrokes on a computer that can make using it easier. You can gain understanding of how certain ingredients work together that you can apply to recipes changing your whole approach to working in the kitchen. On and on it goes.
When we gain understanding or learn new things that we can apply to our lives it can be a real blessing and thus a joy to experience. The same can be true in spiritual matters. When we grow in understanding of spiritual things, it is a real blessing to us. When we understand, when what we know isn’t just rote memorization, but full understanding, it becomes easier to pass along because we understand more fully what we are talking about, not just parroting truths.
Growing in wisdom is such a good thing both to us and to others. We grow in God’s light as we grow in understanding of His truth. John, however, raises the possibility that we can block that light when we don’t use what we are learning in love. “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.” In the body, when there is a disconnect between what the brain is telling the body part what to do, and the body parts ability to do it, there is something wrong, nerve damage, a broken body part or even paralysis. That can happen in the body of Christ too.
We can know about love and agree with the message of caring for our brothers and sisters, but there’s just that one person that we just can’t deal with! If we aren’t careful, and in prayer about this situation, it can become a means by which we block the light from getting through to us and stunts our growth in the Lord.
“To the Jews who had believed Him, Jesus said, “if you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Jesus was a stumbling block to the Jews even while He lived on earth. The Jewish leadership knew what He was teaching. They didn’t need anyone to explain the ways of God to them, but their hatred of who He was and what He stood for blocked His light from getting through to their souls.
The ones who got it, who stopped blocking His light and allowed Him to shine through were recognized as His true disciples. They were free because they stopped insisting that He be a certain way or do certain things. They accepted Him for who He was and became free to follow Him completely because they were no longer blocking His message by their own prejudices and expectations.
We can look at a brother or sister and allow our judgment of them block our freedom for His light to shine in our lives. “Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble.” Remember, love is not a feeling. It is behaving rightly toward all anyway.
Prayer: Father, light of the world, I want to walk in Your light and truly enjoy fellowship with my brothers and sisters authentically. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: In the Light
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