“My son, if you accept my words and store up
my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to
understanding- indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for
understanding and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for
hidden treasure then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the
knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and
understanding.” Proverbs 2:1-5
Sounds
pretty awesome huh? Just cry out for wisdom and understanding and it’s all
yours? The book of Proverbs preaches the seeking of wisdom a TON. You could
take verses of Proverbs and print them in cross shaped fortune cookies and I
guarantee they would be a huge hit at your local Christian bookstore. (Yes, I copyright
that idea)
But did you catch the first couple of verses? Read it again.
“applying your heart to understanding…”
It takes effort to study the Bible and pray daily and there
is no doubt that, if you do these things daily, God will start to reveal his
wisdom to you and show you things through your life and daily experiences.
But the hard part comes next. We read and study and pray for
Gods wisdom when dealing with issues we have but when God answers, he usually
intends to change you and rock the boat a little.
So we take what God reveals to us and we make plans. Plans
to cut out sinful ways, to stop gossiping, to forgive so-and-so or whatever the
Holy Spirit is pressing on our hearts.
But to reap the full benefit of living life in Christ, you
have to APPLY the plan. You have to act.
Why do we as humans fall down and fail at application?
I believe it is because of one word.
Response
In Matt Chandler’s The
Explicit Gospel, Matt explores the idea of our response to the gospel
saying basically we can accept it and be changed by it or do nothing at all. He
makes the comparison of a husband cheating on his wife on their honeymoon just
after he has declared his love for her and her alone.
Let’s dig a little deeper.
In its very nature, the word “response” requires some sort
of action from the person who is responding to an event or action. A response
would require that the person responding changes somehow to fit the action or
event they are witnessing or experiencing. For example, let imagine you’re
walking away from your car and it suddenly explodes. While this explosion
doesn’t seem to phase action stars like the Rock or Vin Diesel, it is highly
unlikely that you would maintain the same heart rate, adrenaline level, blood
pressure, and thought process once your body realizes what has happened. A
response.
In the same way, we know that encountering the gospel will
mean change. We will, at some point, have to respond to the gospel.
As sinful humans, when we do encounter the gospel, it
definitely calls for a life change and a renewal of heart.
Never has a person realized that Christ died for all of man-kind’s
sin and said, “I don’t need to change”
A response requires change. A change requires action….
And let’s face it…WE’RE LAZY.
We try for a little bit, do all the “right studies”, gather
enough knowledge to yell answers at the T.V. while watching American Bible Challenge but we don’t want to really apply it most of
the time. We are too COMFORTABLE.
It’s the complacency and comfort of where we are that keeps
us chained to our old ways and stunts progress and growth.
After reading the “Response” chapter in The Explicit Gospel, I put a note on my desk that says:
“How will you
respond to the gospel today?”
So, how will YOU?
