“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.”
Where can we find wisdom that is pure, unadulterated by ulterior motives, uncontaminated by selfishness, and uncorrupted by evil?
I opened my laptop, determined to begin my morning by reading an online devotional.
But on my way to the site that would provide spiritual nourishment and encouragement, I took a detour. National news links lured me down the wrong road.
And what did I find?
Chaos. Hatred. Gloom and doom.
Though the day promised to be a beautiful, sunny spring day, and all was going well for me, every news article urged me to despair.
The news led me to worry about what might happen in the future.
The very intent of the words on the screen seemed to be this: We should be indignant. We should be angry. Outraged, even.
But when I finally arrived at my daily Scripture reading, the Bible presented a different message.
We should be hopeful.
Meditating on the Pure Wisdom of God
So I’m trying to redirect my mind once again and meditate on the good things…the things that are true and honorable and just and pure… (Philippians 4:8)
But finding purity has been a challenge.
The Book of James tells us godly wisdom is pure…and peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
By reading the news, I may find information. But I won’t find wisdom there.
God’s wisdom is pure.
Clear, sparkling, and refreshing.
Good, moral, and saintly.
Genuine.
Pure, Hopeful Assurances from God’s Word
“The words of the Lord are pure words,
like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.” Psalm 12:6 ESV
Daily we’re bombarded with lying, deceitful, flattering, or boastful language. In contrast, the words of the Lord are pure.
Here are some pure, hopeful assurances from God’s Word:
- In God, we find peace.
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
- In God, we find gentleness and rest.
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29
- In God, we find a reasonable, logical answer to our questions.
“So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.” Acts 17:17
- In God, we find mercy and love.
“The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” Exodus 34:6
- In God, we find goodness.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23 ESV
- In God, we find sincerity.
In the world, we find hypocrisy. But God teaches us to love sincerely, from a pure heart.
“Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart” 1 Peter 1:22 ESV
Aspiring to Purity
As we find this true wisdom and hope we can rely on, we are inspired to live pure lives. Not that we’ll ever attain perfection on this earth. Reading God’s word motivates us to be counter-cultural—-to refuse to buy into the ugliness and chaos and gloom and doom the world has to offer. To aspire to be more Christ-like.
“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” I John 3:2-3 ESV
God’s word motivates us to want to live pure lives, so that unbelievers will recognize something different about us. (1 Peter 3:1-2)
When we see what’s going on in our culture, we may be tempted to become anguished, angry, or argumentative.
Let’s remember to meditate on God’s pure wisdom.
Let’s vow to remain calm in the midst of chaos.
And let’s remain kind in the midst of controversy.
When others are ranting, let’s remain reasonable.
When others are hateful, let’s remain hopeful.
Then, with God’s help, let’s aspire to live pure, Christ-like lives.
Last image courtesy of Joel Muniz on Unsplash.com