29 March, 2024

Growing Like Jesus: Wisdom You Can Touch

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by | 1 September, 2010 | 0 comments

By Eddie Lowen

(Eddie Lowen was among eight Christian leaders asked to share what helps them mature just as Jesus did. Lowen, a member of Standard Publishing”s Publishing Committee, is senior minister with West Side Christian Church, Springfield, Illinois.)

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A television commercial for cars.com depicted a fictional young genius named David Abernathy during several phases of his life. In the first scene, as a newborn, David shocked the obstetrician who de-

livered him by reaching up to shake hands with him! As a preschooler, David amazed his parents by using graphs and PowerPoint slides to successfully negotiate a later bedtime. Later, as a young adult, he stunned a packed opera house by performing heart surgery on a collapsed musician””using a ballpoint pen!

Despite his miraculous aptitude, however, David felt helpless when it came to purchasing a car, which is why he needed professional assistance.

This fictional character illustrates the crucial difference between knowledge and wisdom. Truly brilliant people routinely fail at relationships, live poorly, and pay too much for their cars. To put it bluntly, they are unwise. A Canadian documentary found high intellect rarely correlates to wise living. For example, one of the smartest people in the United States is a gang member who has repeatedly been in and out of jail. No wonder Solomon complained, “Whatever wisdom may be, it is far off and most profound””who can discover it?” (Ecclesiastes 7:24).

Jesus did. Luke notes Jesus grew in wisdom, just as he grew physically, socially, and spiritually (Luke 2:52). You may need to wrestle with some theological assumptions about the incarnation to fully appreciate what this passage means. If you have always pictured Jesus with the ultimate adult mind, even while he resided in an infant”s body, consider Luke”s words. Apparently, Jesus humbled himself, not just by taking on human form, but also by participating in the phases of human development. So, as he aged, he grew in wisdom.

This doesn”t mean he became God at some point after he was born. As John famously and beautifully wrote, Jesus was God in the beginning. If you are the begotten Son of God, you are God.

But, as Paul taught in Philippians 2, Jesus “emptied himself,” not of his identity, but of his divine majesty in order to become human. So, during his life on earth, he accumulated wisdom. Based on his temple experience at age 12, he did so at an impressive rate.

The Path of Wisdom

Like so many biblical concepts, the idea of wisdom has been hijacked. Eastern mystics and Scientologists want us to believe wisdom is found in their meditations and philosophies. But false humility and baseless ideas can never produce wisdom. Instead, those things generate a dangerous brand of spiritual self-indulgence that refuses to be measured against anything but itself. By contrast, Christianity invites us to verify its reports and test its claims. Public crucifixions and empty tombs are confirmable. We must differentiate between a faith based on historical people and events, and those dependent on human musings.

I often tease my teenage daughter by saying something ridiculous followed by the challenge, “If you don”t believe me, just ask me!” Nowadays, she simply rolls her eyes (the desired effect) when I say it. But the first time I issued that challenge, she was frustrated by the irrationality of it. How credible is a claim that can be verified only by the person making it? Such ideas are not wisdom. And, that is why mysticism and cults will never illuminate the path to wisdom. Like an onion peeled back until all the layers are gone, there is nothing to discover at the center of imposter religions.

Wisdom Is Material

Jesus is a great source of wisdom because he was flesh. The most radical thing God ever did is also the most helpful””he materialized. As a result, all of Jesus” ideas were translated into action. All of his claims were fleshed out””literally. All of his talk was walked. There is nothing Jesus believed that he did not demonstrate. So, his wisdom is observable and measurable.

If you want to determine what is wise, search for people who are living by the ideas to which you tend to gravitate. Does materialism appeal to you? There are plenty of materialists you can study. But don”t just perform a superficial evaluation. Examine them closely. Do people who pursue wealth really live better? Are they more fulfilled than middle-class folk who simply have enough?

Does a life of secular service seem like the way of wisdom to you? Find those who”ve adopted that approach, then see what it has produced. If that is the way of wisdom, the evidence will be there. As Jesus said, “wisdom is proved right by her actions.”

After traveling to eastern Africa and seeing the impact Christianity has had, an atheist columnist from Europe admitted the gospel is bringing authentic hope to the poor. Isn”t that what Jesus promised? Although the writer was not a believer, he could see the wisdom of spreading the message of Christ.

In your church, you can find people who display both wisdom and a lack of it. Hebrews 13:7 invites Christ followers to observe mature Christians carefully. It says, “Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.” If we are good students of others, we will walk with the wise and grow in wisdom like Jesus.

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