There were a number of well known proverbs in our passage today, but a few others caught my eye as I read our passage....
Proverbs 16:31 Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life
Our culture does not value the elderly. We don't view them as productive, and therefore they must be useless. What a waste! The elderly have so much to teach us. Though age does not always equal wisdom, age does provide years of experience from which to draw wisdom. And, as the saying goes, those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. We can learn from their mistakes and from their experience. We can also learn from their stories. Jesus spoke in parables often because we are drawn to them and they are an excellent teaching tool. When we ignore or marginalize the elderly we are missing out on a treasure trove.
Of course, the elderly aren't only to be treated with respect because of what they can teach us. The elderly, like all humanity (including the handicapped, the unborn, the less than) have value not because of what they do, but because they are made in the image of God and He has declared them worthy through His death and resurrection.
Another common theme in today's proverbs is the importance of taming the tongue, of using it for good instead of evil. A great reminder for me!
Our Titus passage contains another one of my favourite passages.....
3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
What a beautiful description of the gospel message. We all were once all those awful things, until Christ. Until Christ. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift of mercy and grace!
Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Proverbs 19-21; Hebrews 1
3 comments:
As I get older, I more and more like the idea of honouring the elderly!
Seriously, honouring the elderly is a great untapped source of wisdom we hardly ever think of. Their are many around us in our church or family that we can go to, to seek advice or help.
One of my most favourite Bible Verses is Proverbs 16:9
We can make our plans,
but the Lord determines our steps.
A few years ago, I received a necklace with this verse as a gift from a student and I love wearing it. This verse could be a theme verse for my life. *I* did make my plans:
I planned to marry my high school sweetheart, I planned to finish university, I planned to be an elementary teacher, I planned to buy a house, I planned to have kids. That was my plan. The Lord saw that my order for these plans was not as good as HIS and so he directed my steps in a way that each of these plans did occur but not at all in the order that I thought they would. I'm thankful for the ability to make plans but I'm also thankful for the ability to let God lead me to a better way.
Not sure I agree with the grey hair as a crown of glory...but maybe I'm just modest and prefer to dye and hide my crown, lol!
"Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established." Proverbs 16:3
To me this verse means that when our motives are in check, and we have truly given the situation to the Lord, He will see us through.
"But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Saviour appeared," Titus 3:4
We are to imitate God's kindness in the way we treat others, and an extra measure of kindness must be directed towards the sick and needy. Kindness is expected of us as one of the aspects of the fruit of the Spirit. I ask God to grant me the kindness and compassion required to show those who need it that I interact with this week.
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