Ecclesiastes 8:1 Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed.
Ah Friends, we in the northern climes are now getting the serious autumn weather; rain and falling leaves blown around by strong, cold winds. Sadly, my driveway is the depository for most of the leaves in my lane, the snow too, when that flies, since the position of the houses causes a little whirlwind to form right outside my study window. Sometimes I sit down there, hear it and smile, but then get up and look outside only to see all the other driveways sparkling clean, but mine littered with leaves and snow. Though it sometimes gets me angry when I have to go out and clean it up, it doesn’t mean I have to be continually sour and angry at the vicissitudes of life. As Jurgen Moltman says; ‘The more passionately we LOVE life, the more intensely we experience the joy of life.’ And that’s a fact. Life will always throw us curved balls that we can’t hit, but then too it will suddenly lift us up giddily on high, then just as suddenly, have us plummet back to earth with no parachute to break our fall. And if we wisely choose to live life on its terms, rather than those of our expectations, then we’ll bring such passion and enthusiasm to our lives that the ups and downs won’t even matter. No wonder in this chapter on respect for rulers, Sol asks, ‘Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing?’ He went searching for answers and found that even his great wisdom wasn’t sufficient to understand life fully. ‘All this I have proved (tested) by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me. That which is far off and exceeding deep, who can find it out?’ (Eccl.7:23-24) But Friends, though we are unable to find all the answers, and also unable to fathom many we do find, it doesn’t mean we have to live a sour, disgruntled life, because what ever you bring to life, life will give back to you, and often more than you brought. In Sol’s search for wisdom, he found very few righteous but many sinful souls. Now that didn’t stop him from pursuing his attainment of wisdom, since in the context of our everyday lives, it is still the most useful, attractive and compelling virtue. Note his daring declaration: ‘a man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine.’ And so it should, if Sol’s words in Proverbs, on a father’s wisdom, are true. ‘Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not…Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: LOVE her, and she shall keep thee…Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver thee.’ (Prov.4:5-6,8-9) Oh my people, if such is the wonder of wisdom, why aren’t more of us diligently seeking it eh? I really don’t know, but I sure think we should, cause it will definitely improve our attitudes and certainly put a shine, a big, bright, beautiful smile on all of our too often sour faces. Then we’d be like Stephen, as Luke describes him sitting before the council after he was arrested. ‘And all that sat in the council, looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.’ (Acts 6:15) Wow! Now wouldn’t that be wonderful my brethren, all of us with angelic faces! I know some of you will consider that a pipe dream, and it may well be, but that’s the wonderful thing about our faith; there’s always hope, it springs eternal when you have an omnipotent, kind, LOVING, merciful, forgiving God, like we do. And according to Sol, when wisdom is in a person’s heart, it also shows on the outside by a pleasant, shining face, ‘and the boldness (sternness) of his face shall be changed.’ And isn’t that the living truth, my people! When our inner workings are relaxed and on an even keel, it shows on our faces. We don’t have that stern, angry, sour, unappreciative, hate the world look. And it’s been this way ever since the first sin was committed. Hear what Moses promised the Israelites for disobedience: ‘The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard (respect) the person of the old, nor show favour to the young.’ (Deut.28:49-50) Yes my Friends, a fierce, unsmiling countenance usually is a replica, a mirror image of what’s inside, for as Jesus in His godly wisdom declared; what goes into us doesn’t defile or define us, ‘But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile the man.’ (Mat.15:18) So Friends, let’s be very careful about what comes out of us. Let’s seek wisdom, so that our faces will be bright and smiling, and softened with the Spirit of Jesus. It’s the only way to live this life successfully. Much LOVE!…life…was made to be lived…with enthusiasm and passion…
SCRIP-BITS 