“It is possible to live to a ripe old age yet remain an infant in the way of wisdom.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – April 13, 2024
And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. Luke 2:52, NIV
“Respect your elders.” Of the many things I was taught as a child, this was certainly near the top of the list. For as long as I can remember, I was trained to respect and honor adults simply because they were older than me and thus deserved a posture of respect and deference from me as a child. And while this is good and right and I have sought to pass this virtue on to my children, it is worth noting today that age and wisdom do not always walk hand in hand. As Ransom says to The Green Lady in C.S. Lewis’ novel Perelandra, seeking to save her from the devil’s attempts to make her older, “In our world to be older is not always to be wiser.”
It is entirely possible to live to a ripe old age yet remain an infant in the way of wisdom.
As we see in Proverbs 8, wisdom is the animating power of God that brings order out of chaos. “I was formed long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the world came to be” (Proverbs 8:23, NIV). Thus, to grow in wisdom is to enter more deeply into the very life of God himself, daily encountering the intimate communion of the Trinity that lives in an eternal union of love, a dance into which we are invited.
For those who have abided with the Lord for the whole of their lives, old age does bring with it the wisdom gained from a lifetime of communion. Yet let us not forget the example of our Lord Jesus, who, as a very young man, was the wisest one in the Temple, instructing his so-called elders in the ways of God (see Luke 2:41-52). He had more wisdom in his twelve years than those who’d spent a lifetime growing older, but not wiser.
So today, whatever your biological age may be, young or old, an invitation stands before you and I both. Let us commit ourselves to a life of abiding communion with the Lord, and seek to follow the example of Jesus, who “grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”
Prayer
Father, as we grow older in age, may we also grow wiser and live more deeply in perfect communion with you, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Application
Reflect today upon these words from C.S. Lewis: “In our world to be older is not always to be wiser.”
Related Reading
Proverbs 1:7; Matthew 7:24; James 1:5
Worship Resource
Keith & Kristyn Getty: Perfect Wisdom of Our God
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