“Who is wise and discerning among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” (James 3:13)
As it is written, “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).
It is through the cross that God has provided salvation for all who believe in His Son, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for our sins and reconciled us back to God (Romans 3:23–25; 2 Corinthians 5:18–19; 1 Peter 2:24).
We are called not to follow the wisdom of the world, which is folly before God, because it does not respect God's Word. Instead, people stubbornly treat God's fair and just commands with contempt, delighting in wilful disobedience and disregarding God's command to love Him and love others as ourselves (Matthew 22:37–39).
The wisdom of the world can lead people into pride, selfishness, corruption and greed, which can motivate their deeds and actions. People can delight in worshipping created things of the world, which are temporary and will fade away with time, rather than worshipping the Creator (Romans 1:25; 1 John 2:15–17). This can result in hatred, division, violence and strife within society.
But the wisdom that comes from God is “first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” (James 3:17).
As the Apostle James wrote, we should pray for God's wisdom for ourselves and for others, for God generously gives wisdom to those who ask Him. “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” (James 1:5).
When we know that we lack wisdom, we should ask God for His wisdom, trusting that He will give it to us. “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favour and honour; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.” (Psalm 84:11).
We are called to demonstrate to the world that we have wisdom that comes from God by the good lives we live, so that others may see our good deeds and give glory to God (Matthew 5:16). We are called to demonstrate the wisdom that comes from above through the good deeds we do with humility, gentleness and love.
For Christ our Lord has a heart of humility and gentleness, and He has called us to come to Him and lay down our heavy burdens. He says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” He also says, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28–29).
Christ has asked all believers in Him to take up their cross and follow Him (Luke 9:23). His burden is not heavy, but His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30). Just as two animals yoked together work together in ploughing the field, Christ carries the heavy load for us and teaches us to walk in His ways, learning from His example of humility, gentleness and obedience.
As we follow and imitate the examples of Christ, we are called to take up our cross daily and follow the example He has set before us (Luke 9:23; 1 Peter 2:21). We are to learn from Him, allowing His character to be formed in us as we grow in spiritual maturity.
We pray that we, as God's dearly loved children, may grow in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has overcome the world (John 16:33), and that we may become effective and fruitful in our knowledge of Him, abounding in every good work and deed, done with a gentle and humble heart like His.
May we continue to grow in the knowledge of God and His Son, Jesus Christ, becoming spiritually mature and bearing good fruit in our lives, for this is God's will for us (Colossians 1:9–10; Ephesians 4:13–15).
Amen.