Not everything is what it seems to be at first

Wisdom knows that not everything is what it seems it might be at first. 

When I was a kid, my little brother and I got stuck in Chinese finger trap. This long tube of thick woven paper had tightened up around our fingers, chaining us to each other. 

It was fun at first, but it got to the point where: we didn’t want to be stuck together anymore.

 So we pulled to try and get out. But the small tube tightened further and further. And we were screaming at each other, but then my dad came in and calmly pushed our hands together. 

Our fingers met gently in the middle of the trap, and the paper strands opened up wide, freeing our swollen fingers. 

At first, It seemed like, if we wanted to be apart, we should pull ourselves apart. That’s what seemed to be the only logical solution. 

But wisdom knows that not everything is what it seems to be at first. 

John 1 tells us that Jesus is the Logos of God. 

Logos means logic. 

But the story of this savior who comes to give his life for us defies so many of the things that we would call logical. 

After a life of ministry with the people others logically avoided….Jesus was arrested and tried and killed.  Which to any logical person, would look like a defeat.

And he rose from the dead, defeating the grave for all of us. And everyday, Jesus invites us to be a part of the same new life. To experience renewal and grace and redemption in our lives and to share it with the people around us. 

Jesus is the Word of God, the Logic of God, the wisdom of God. 

But so often we cling to human logic instead. 

Human wisdom says  “A penny saved is a penny earned.”

Jesus, the Word, the logos, the Logic of God, says  “Sell all you have and give it to the poor.”

Human wisdom says  “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me.” 

Jesus says  “Forgive your brother seventy times seven times.” 

Human wisdom says “Don’t get mad. Get even.” 

Jesus says “If people slap you on your right cheek, you must turn the left cheek to them as well.”

Human wisdom entreats us to protect ourselves and seek success at all costs. 

But Jesus is the savior who saves us by giving up his life.

And he calls us to do the same.  

My hope for you is that you will look at your decision-making and try to find the places where human wisdom has cheated you out of following The wisdom of God.

That you’ll carve out time to learn God’s Wisdom by studying the life and teaching of Jesus. 

Perhaps you’ve told yourself you don’t have time to take on others’ problems. And Jesus is calling you to love your neighbor in a new way. 

Perhaps you’ve told yourself a story about people in our community that you don’t think like you or look like you. And Jesus is calling you to reach out to the least of these in our midst. 

Perhaps you’ve told yourself that you have to keep up with a list of endless demands from friends and family and coworkers. And Jesus is calling you to rest in Him. 

As we seek to route out the idols in our lives, we hope to love, trust and honor Jesus above everything else. 

He calls us to a wisdom that no human logic could compare with. A wisdom that is going to change everything, if we let it.