A Day Behind

Since I was a day behind in my writing yesterday, I'm going to stick with that today.  Yes, I've read Luke 24...but there was something cool I read yesterday that I wanted to share.

In Luke 23: 18-25 we see the story of Barabbas, who was thrown into prison but the crowd demanded that he be released instead of Jesus.  They don't tell us much about Barabbas, other than he was guilty of the same crime that Jesus was accused of in verse 14.  The particularly interesting thing I learned came from my study notes in my Bible.  So I'm just going to copy them over here for you to read:

"Who was Barabbas?  Jewish men had names that identified them with their fathers.  Simon Peter, for example, is called Simon son of Jonah (Matthew 16:17).  Barabbas is never identified by his given name, and this name is not much help either - bar-abbas means "son of Abba" (or "son of daddy").  He could have been anybody's son - and that's just the point.  Barabbas, son of an unnamed father, committed a crime.  Because Jesus died in his place, this man was set free.  We too are sinners and criminals who have broken God's holy law.  Like Barabbas, we deserve to die.  But Jesus has died in our place, for our sins, and we have been set free.  We don't have to be "very important people" to accept our freedom in Christ.  In fact, thanks to Jesus, God adopts us all as his own sons and daughters and gives us the right to call him Abba - "daddy" (see Galatians 4:4-6)"

The Broken Lamp

I am struggling with Will lately.  I sent him off to school after yet another rough morning.  He was being defiant, telling me "NO", so I sent him to his room.  When he didn't go, I got up and chased him down - as he jumped on his bed he knocked down his new reading lamp and it broke.  (Will loves to read in the morning, and this lamp was very special to him - so he was devastated.)  His choices lately worry me.  He's got a sweet spirit, is loving, supportive, generous, brave, and very smart.  But he is getting into trouble at home and at school lately because of his choices...and those choices are leading others to believe that he is rude, uncooperative, disrespectful, and lacks empathy.  His choices are bringing him unfortunate consequences, and it's heartbreaking for me, combined with feeling completely frustrated and feeling like a failure. 

Yesterday we read Proverbs 9 which compared the house of Wisdom with the house of Folly.  I can't get these words out of my head, so I guess that means I need to look at them more closely.

Wisdom:  ability to make good use of knowledge; ability to recognize right from wrong; good judgement.

Folly:  lack of good sense; foolishness; wicked or lewd behavior.

God tells us that Wisdom is primary and fundamental (see Proverbs 8:22-31), and it's the foundation that all life is built...in chapter 8 we see Wisdom as a woman who guides and makes us succeed, and was present at the beginning of creation (she sounds like a Mom).  Psalm 111:10 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom". 

In chapter 9, we are told that "Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn out its seven pillars".  Here the number seven is a figurative term for completeness and perfection.  This lets us know that Wisdom lacks nothing.  Folly, on the other hand, is deceptive and seeks to destroy...she is undisciplined and without knowledge.

When I read my Bible lately, thanks to my recent Bible study girls, I pray a personalized version of Ephesians 1:17 "God, please give me your Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that I may know you better."  And as I'm writing all of my thoughts down here I'm starting to see what God's telling me through all this.  Wisdom begins with knowing God...not knowing about Him, but to know Him better! 

I turned a few pages back and saw Proverbs 4:3-4 "³ For I too was a son to my father, still tender, and cherished by my mother. ⁴ Then he taught me, and he said to me, “Take hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands, and you will live."  My greatest responsibility as a parent is to encourage my child to become wise.  Wisdom comes from God, and I can only urge my sons to turn to God's Word in the same way that I need to every day.

Personally, through writing all this out, I just realized that I have become like the broken lamp.  My thoughts, actions, expectations - they don't shine from Wisdom lately.  They have been foolish.  I need to encourage my sons to "become" wise.  However, I have been treating them as if they already "are" wise...instead of treating them like the little boys they are who need parents to guide them to succeed.  I haven't been doing a good job of that lately.

A friend of mine encouraged me today with 2 Corinthians 4:8, and when I looked it up, I found verse 6 "For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness", made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."  God has entrusted me with my children...and I thank Him for that gift every day.  He is the source of all Wisdom, and His power dwells in me, the power source for His light to shine through me onto my children.