Walk in Wisdom

Look carefully how you walk, how you live. The looking is to discern how to live. Those God has raised to life live with care. We don’t coast, we don’t drift, we aren’t passive, we don’t just react. Many people approach life like this. But God’s people don’t. We think about how to live, we pray about how to live, we plan how to live. We open the eyes of our minds and hearts to perceive reality as it is and live accordingly. 

We walk not as those who are unwise but as wise. “In him we have redemption… according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ,” (1:7-9). This is big picture wisdom, wisdom about the plan of God, the mystery of God’s will made known in Christ, the purpose of the universe and why we’re here and what Christ is up to. That wisdom trickles down into the detail of our lives. It is wisdom to live as forgiven people who know that grace beyond measure is ours. 

Then Paul prays, “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened…” (1:16-18). This wisdom is a gift of the Spirit; it comes through prayer. It is insight, understanding, knowledge of God. The prayer continues, that we may know the hope we are called to, the riches of God’s inheritance, and the immeasurable greatness of God’s power for us. It is wisdom to know our calling, to grasp God’s power, to be confident of our future. So, pray! Pray for the Spirit of wisdom.

“Not as unwise but as wise” is filled out with “purchase the time, because the days are evil.” This is what wise living looks like. The “days are evil” during the present age, the time between Jesus’ first coming and his return, because though Jesus is victorious, the devil continues to rage against God’s people (Rev. 12:9-12, 17). The idea is of “purchasing,” not just making the best use of the time (it is the same word as in Gal. 3:13 where it says “Christ redeemed/purchased us from the curse of the law”). We must be shrewd, wise merchants. Merchants keep their eyes out for opportunities. When they come, they pounce on them: opportunities for doing good (Gal. 6:10), for loving people, for speaking of Jesus, for making an impact for his kingdom. This is wise living.

Let wisdom flow from what has been lavished on us in Christ Jesus.

Madhush.