I nearly died tonight. Working with my father-in-law on a dryer repair job, I went to pull the plug out of the socket and accidentally touched the hot ends of the dryer plug together. Needless to say I punched out all the power in our little townhouse, saw a big spark, and had a moment of sheer panic, but suffered no injuries. My wife has since banned me from all things electric.
It makes me wonder about this spirit of wisdom and of revelation. It is not often that I have a near-death experience. I started to reflect after the incident that this would be a pretty sad day to have gone out on. I woke up late because I'm sick. I did a few menial tasks. I was not particularly loving nor unloving to my family. I was probably a little selfish, as I have a tendency to be when I'm sick. I doubt that, if I died today, wisdom would be a word used to describe me. Passionate, maybe. Likable, I'd say so. Wise, I'm not so sure. But I have to remind myself that God's wisdom is not the world's wisdom. Maybe my near-death experience gets me closer to wisdom than a psychology course.
A passage from Proverbs illustrates what I mean: "The fear of God is beginning of wisdom." Maybe God's wisdom has more to do with knowing God, the eternal, the father of glory, the alpha and the omega. By comparison, well, you just can't compare. I am dust and to dust I shall return. Maybe understanding my own mortality is a better road to wisdom. This reflection fits better in lent than in Epiphany, but there it is anyway.
So all that to say: be careful if someone says they are praying for you to receive God's wisdom. It might not be what you expect.
by the will of God,
Jonathan
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