“I was reading an article the other day,” Stan began, “and the author said something I wasn’t certain I agreed with when I first read it.”
“What was that?” I responded.
“He said something to the effect that wisdom only comes through suffering.”
“And,” he continued, “the more I thought about that and focused on what the Bible’s Book of Proverbs has to say about wisdom and its source, I changed my mind.”
“How so?” I asked.
“Simple example,” Stan replied. “Say I do something really quite stupid, like standing on the top rung of a ladder to reach something. Nothing bad happens so I continue to use my ladder that way.”
“Say, further,” he added, “one day I fall off the ladder from doing the same stupid thing, break my arm, and suffer from it. You think I will have learned it’s wise to stay off of ladders that are too short?”
“I would hope so,” I responded. “I would hope you had learned some wisdom.”
“Same thing with everything,” Stan said. “If what I’m doing doesn’t lead to any reason to stop doing it, I won’t stop even though there are consequences I have not yet suffered.”
“A broken arm from falling off a ladder is one thing,” he continued, “but stepping into eternity without knowing I’m going in the best direction would be the ultimate example of being foolish and unwise.”
Continuing, he said, “And I think not pursuing knowing God on this side of eternity is also very unwise and foolish.”
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
“How else am I going to know how to live the life I have been given?” Stan replied. “Unless I choose to pursue the only source of true wisdom on this side of eternity, I am not going to know how to live this life the way God intends.”
“And you think God has the answer as to how to do that?” I asked.
“I do,” Stan replied. “Such wisdom is the free gift from God, but I have to seek it. If I don’t learn the wisdom God has for me, I will not have learned anything of any importance. I will just keep climbing and falling off of ladders!”
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For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. Proverbs 2:6.
Prayer: Thank you, Father, you have for me all of the wisdom I need to make the right decisions. Thank you for leading me to make the right decision of choosing to spend eternity with you when my time here is finished. Thank you, too, for the source of all of the wisdom I need for the time I have remaining on this side of eternity. You know and I know how often I do not gain wisdom from what I do and don’t do because I choose to remain foolish. Please forgive that foolishness. And please, Father, help me in following every step of your lead in seeking, receiving, claiming, and embracing all of the wisdom you have for me. Thank you I can and do bring these prayers before you in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Think on this: Have you ever done something you regretted and said, “How could I be so stupid?” What lesson did you learn from that experience? Was the lesson sufficient to change future behavior? Why or why not? Do you know where you are going when your time here is finished and you step into eternity? If you don’t know your eternal destination is to be with God, how foolish and unwise is that? If you know you will be in God’s presence for eternity, are you pursuing knowing Him as deeply as possible before you go to be with Him? If not, is that unwise and foolish? Why or why not? If you want to pursue knowing God, do you know how to do that?
Waiting for the Train 