Devotional for Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Twilight: Instruction in Wisdom

by the Rev. Andrew Kuyvenhoven

Monthly Theme:

Peter's first epistle is addressed to "strangers in the world," who have their homeland in heaven. They are not surprised that they suffer when they do what is right. They follow the footprints of Jesus.

Bible Reading:

Psalm 34:11–22

Bible Text:

"[To] love life and see good days ... keep [your] tongue from evil ... seek peace and pursue it" (1 Pet. 3:10–11; Ps. 34:12–14).

Devotional:

Those whom Christ saves he sends to school---a course of study that isn't over until we graduate to glory. Our main textbook is the Bible, and the heart of the Bible is the gospel as revealed in the New Testament. Yet this doesn't mean we are finished with the Old Testament. Peter assigns Psalm 34 as required reading for those who are reborn by the Spirit of Christ. In the school of God we learn from the rabbis of old, from the apostles of Jesus, and from the church's contemporary teachers.

"Come, my children, listen to me," says the ancient teacher (Ps. 34:11). Would you like to enjoy life and be happy? Then tame your tongue, he says. You can almost see the twinkling eyes in his wrinkled face. For he knows it is harder to bridle the human tongue than to tame a lion.

Listen to the old man of God: Happiness does not come with a pile of money, as everybody tells you. The good life comes with clean speech and right living.

"Seek peace and pursue it," he says. For it is with peace as it is with love - once we have found it. we must spend the rest of our lives pursuing it.

The new life begins once we know Christ. Immediately he enrolls us in his school and teaches us to express the new life in the practical wisdom of everyday living.