Tiny Devotional for Wednesday, 12-02-2020

 A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family members who have dropped by, how did we ever make it without cats walking on us when we were trying to write?

My son, if you will receive my words
And treasure my commandments within you,
Make your ear attentive to wisdom;
Incline your heart to understanding.
Proverbs 2:1-2, NASB

This morning, I’m looking at the escalation and expansion of our response to wisdom. 

We don’t walk around full of foolishness in the morning, and that afternoon experience transformation. It’s mostly not lightning, but like the slow growth of a plant. 
In fact, I think that those lightning-like moments are just the full revelation of a long and quiet period of growth.

First, we have to receive, and then, we treasure. I don’t believe that we necessarily comprehend at this point; we just know we have gotten something, and that it’s valuable. 
After that, we must train ourselves to learn, and finally, to understand what it all means.

(This part scares me to talk about: memories!) 

Think about the instruction we give to kids about not running into traffic.  We want them to receive our words, and value them, even if they don’t comprehend.  
It’s one of the few things that we CAN’T afford to have our kids learn by experiencing logical consequences, because those can be crippling, if not lethal.
At some point, though, traffic safety rests with the offspring, when they understand in their hearts.

Proverbs doesn’t deal with traffic safety; call it LIFE safety, or maybe AFTERLIFE safety. 
To the naive, the words may seem restrictive, but as we treasure them, seek them, and understand them, they become our way of life.

Peace be on your household.