Proverbs 9:1–6 

Wisdom has built her house; 

she has hewn her seven pillars. 

She has slaughtered her beasts; 

she has mixed her wine; 

she has also set her table. 

She has sent out her young women 

to call from the highest places in the town, 

“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” 

To him who lacks sense she says, 

“Come, eat of my bread 

and drink of the wine I have mixed. 

Leave your simple ways, and live, 

and walk in the way of insight.”

I struggle with a tenacious but empty hope: to possess the resources I need to make everyone I love both holy and happy. It does not take long for me to taste the bitter fruit of this kind of hope. 

Hope turns into a demand; demand turns into anger; anger turns into bitter resentment. After all I have done, nobody is turning out the way they ought. No one is holy enough; no one is happy enough.

Suddenly I realize that I have been listening to Folly in the back alley of empty promises. I cannot create a banquet of real food for anyone, including myself. There is only one banquet and Wisdom, alone, has prepared it. Everyone is invited to come; no one eats her food second hand.

On the one hand this banquet costs me nothing. Any fool or simpleton can come and eat for free. On the other hand, it costs me everything. I have to let go of my dream of providing a banquet for others; I have to let go of my need for more assets to make my dream come true. 

Ironically, the best thing I can do for anyone, including myself, is to forsake my need for natural assets and come to Wisdom’s banquet table and eat.

Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her. Proverbs 8:10–11

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, 

so great is his love for those who fear him; 
as far as the east is from the west, 
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Sometimes we are afraid to focus too much on God’s love and compassion. After all, God has given us commands and expects us to obey them. Isn’t it better to focus our time and energy on keeping God’s commandments rather than on his love? No!

We cannot even begin to understand God’s commands if we do not know how much he loves us. God is rescuing us from the greed, arrogance, hostility and deceit that thrives in this world and in our own hearts. For love to be real, it has to delight in the truth - and the truth is that we need a heart rescue more than we need a circumstance rescue.

That is why Jesus came. He laid down his life so we could be made into new people who are loved into a new kind of obedience: the obedience of faith expressing itself in love.

If I have the right kind of fear of God, I will come to him with a tiny mustard seed of trust that he loves me, that he knows me better than I know myself, that he has taken away all of my guilt and shame, and that has compassion on me. Jesus will turn that seed into the largest tree in the garden.

As a father has compassion on his children, 
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; 
for he knows how we are formed, 
he remembers that we are dust. (Psalm 103:11–14)

May your unfailing love be my comfort, 

according to your promise…

Let your compassion come to me that I may live

 

We do not usually seek unfailing love from people we fear. They are powerful but not loving. We might seek their approval, but not their love. We only show the parts of ourselves that will bring a smile or erase a frown.

 

But we also do not seek unfailing love from people we do not fear. They do not have the weight or the inner-strength for their love to matter in the ways that love needs to matter. Maybe they fear us or in some way have lost credibility. When they use the word “love” it has lost its most valuable qualities.

 

Yet there are the few who are both powerful and loving. You find them in books - Gandalf and Dumbledore come to mind. Their greatness was enlarged by their humility and compassion. The fortunate ones who feared them for the right reasons were wonderfully transformed. 

 

How much more do we find unfathomable power, wisdom, humility and love in Jesus? When we begin to fear Jesus for the right reasons we receive his most valuable gifts - and they reach straight into our hearts.

 

the Lord delights in those who fear him, 
who put their hope in his unfailing love.