September 9

Sep 9 - Today from Proverbs 9 we look at verse 9

"Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning."

I have no idea where I got the concept from, but when I was a boy I thought that when we died and went to heaven, we would then know everything. I was confident that all the things that puzzled me, that were too difficult for me to understand, and all the things I never knew - I would suddenly know. Perhaps it was an excuse not to study and learn - I would get it all when I got to heaven. I was not at all academically motivated when I was a boy.
I no longer believe that. I am now convinced that I have eternal life. It began for me on the day Jesus revealed the truth about Himself to me, and I received that truth. On that day I 'began' eternal life. On that day I entered eternal school. Even when I pass through the veil from time into eternity, I will continue to learn. Learning is no longer drudgery for me. I am thrilled when the Lord gives me a new revelation of Himself or His kingdom. The more we know of Him and His kingdom, the more we see how everything fits together. God's mind is incomprehensible. His ways are so awesome that we will never achieve a full understanding of the infinite perfection and order of His being. Even in eternity, He will have wondrous surprises for us! Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2:9, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him." The very best your mind could possibly conceive falls short! Yet, we can begin to know now. Paul continues in verse 10, "But God has revealed it to us by His Spirit." The instruction and teaching our verse for today refers to is spiritual instruction and teaching. Wisdom is understanding life the way God meant it to be. To become wiser is to gain further understanding of His purposes through spiritual instruction. Spiritual instruction comes by revelation of His Word. Hebrews 4:12 tells us that God's Word is living and active. When you write a letter to a loved one, it's not just ink on paper. It is your essence - a communication from your soul to their soul. God's Word is not just ink on paper, it contains the very soul of God. It becomes alive to us through the work of the Holy Spirit - spiritual instruction. But in order for it to be alive, we must receive it. We cannot just say, "That's nice," set it down and walk away without a second thought.
I remember when I was serving in the military in Viet Nam, and I would get a letter from home. I couldn't wait to open it. I feasted on the words. They kept me in touch with the reality of an unseen world for me. I didn't read it once and throw it in the trash. I read it over and over. I carried it until the next letter came. Those letters were alive, and fed my soul news and love from home. I now see God's Word the same way. I love getting new insights into His character and His ways. His Word keeps me in touch with the reality of the unseen home that is mine through Jesus Christ. All that is seen is only temporary.
The other thing about wisdom and learning is that they are the vehicle by which we grow in the character of Christ. When we received His redemptive work and made Him our Lord and Savior, He left us here for a purpose; to bring witness to His character and to demonstrate His purposes through our service. We are to glorify Him! The more we grow in wisdom and add to our learning through spiritual instruction, the more we glorify Him. That makes learning extremely gratifying. When I stop and think of the overwhelming debt He paid for me, I want to glorify Him. Apart from His love, I am lost and without hope. But, because He loved me, I have an eternity of wonderful and delightful surprises ahead of me, things that my natural mind cannot even conceive of. An eternity of knowing and enjoying the presence of God in the total absence of sin or any of it's distortions. No wonder the saints can shout from the depths of their hearts - "HALLELUJAH!"