O God; open our hearts to your word - a word that passes swiftly and faithfully
from the ear to the heart, from the heart to the life. Amen
I wonder
from ‘where’ you’ve gained the greatest influence in your life? Or perhaps I
should first ask ‘who’? Was it from your parents, family, teachers, friends,
historical figures, sport or musical icons, ministers or other church members
perhaps? Or maybe that influence came from certain books, films, poems, TV
programmes, music, tragedies, holidays, the internet, happy times? I could go
on. Whatever influences and experiences have shaped us and moulded the way we
are, we are and have become the personalities we are, created and loved by God
as unique individual human beings.
And have
you ever asked yourself questions like ‘What on earth am I here for?’? Who am
I? What am I here for? What is the purpose of my life? You may not have
answered those questions but hopefully we can begin to dissect a few of these
issues from what Paul is saying in his 7-verse section of his letter to the
Ephesians
(5:15-21). As in the previous sections of Paul’s letter that we’ve been
reading, praying about and studying in the last few weeks, they contain
God-given God-breathed advice as to how we might live out our lives on this
earth.
Giving
good advice and listening to good advice are two sides of the priceless
‘wisdom’ coin. The books entitled "Dear Me: A letter to my 16 year old
self" are a compilation of letters written by various people to their 16
year old self, (edited by Joseph Galliano). The first ‘Dear Me’ book includes letters
from a variety of well-known people including an Archbishop! Another book
called ‘What I Know Now: Letters to My Younger Self’ is a similar collection of
letters written by famous women to the women they once were. The letters
included in all of these books are filled with advice and insights the writer
wish they had had when they were younger.
I wonder, if you sent a letter back through
time to your younger self, what your letter would say and what advice you might
offer? The ‘Dear Me’ series also has a website. So you can write your letter
and submit it for publication too, to share your own wisdom from what you know
now with everyone else in the world.
I was particularly struck by Hugh Jackman,
an Australian actor who wrote in his ‘Dear Me’ letter ‘Keep writing down one
list... and one list only... the 5 things you love to do, and the 5 things you
are good at... they will keep changing, but one day they will match up... and
there is your path... But even then keep writing your list just to make sure
you're still on the right track.’ So that might be another interesting exercise
for you to undertake in your spare time.
Here are
excerpts from some letters:
"Life
itself is a journey. You can draw your own maps." (Brian Keenan)
“Try more
things. Cross more lines.” (Breena Clarke)
“Learn
how to celebrate.” (Olympia Dukakis)
“You
don’t have to be afraid of living alone.” (Eileen Fisher)
“Don’t be so quick to dismiss another human
being.” (Barbara Boxer)
“Laundry
will wait very patiently.” (Nora Roberts)
“Your
hair matters far, far less than you think” (Lisa Scottoline)
“Speak
the truth but ride a fast horse.” (Kitty Kelley)
It’s interesting to hear nuggets of advice from
other people. The bible too is full of the wisdom of individuals who have
offered their wisdom, based on their life experience, and particularly their
relationship with God. Historically, the wisest man who ever lived (besides
Jesus) was King Solomon. We can find this documented in the second book of
Chronicles. Solomon’s only request to God was that God would grant him wisdom. Solomon
could have asked for riches, long life, or victory over his enemies, but he did
not ask for any of these things. He said, "Give me an understanding heart
to rule Your people, that I may know
the difference between good and evil. Help me to judge these great people of Yours."
Solomon’s most famous wisdom was the decision he
made one day when two women brought a
baby to Solomon. Each woman said the baby was her child. Solomon said,
"Cut the baby in half and give half of the baby to each woman." (Of
course, he didn't really intend to kill the baby. It was just a test.)
"NO!" screamed the real mother, "Give her the baby. Do not kill
him." Then Solomon knew who the real mother was because of the way she
loved the baby. He gave the baby to its real mother. Of course it’s not always
easy for us to make the right decisions in our lives, and to use the wisdom we
have or can acquire during our lives.
Our
passage begins, in the Amplified Bible translation, ‘Look carefully then how
you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as
the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people),’
I believe
life is often best described as a journey and every step worthy of careful
consideration. As many of you know I have been involved with Instep who’s
slogan is ‘Men Walking Together’ and its name comes from Galatians (5:25) ‘Since
we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit’. We’re
thinking today about how as humans we rely on our own wisdom, but with God’s
wisdom, Christ’s example and the Power of the Holy Spirit we are less likely to
stumble as often throughout our life’s journey.
Our
passage continues by saying ‘16 Making the very most of the time
[buying up each opportunity], because the days are evil.’ 17 Therefore
do not be vague and thoughtless and foolish, but understanding and
firmly grasping what the will of the Lord is.
Inspirational
sayings and quotes have enormous power and impact on us. The words "live, laugh, love" as well
as the longer slogan "live well, laugh often, love much" are both
extremely popular on a wide variety of items and products. The words are part
of a poem by Bessie Anderson Stanley. The words are often linked to 3 biblical
verses.
Live Making the best of our lives, our time on earth
being a vehicle through which the light of Christ shines is what Christians are
called to be. Matthew 5:16 says ‘let
your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and
glorify your Father in heaven’ and part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.
Laugh “...A time
to weep, and a time to laugh” from the book of Ecclesiastes Chapter 3:4 The
whole of this well-known chapter beginning ‘There is a time for everything’ offers wisdom on
balancing our time between our different demands in our lives. Authorship of Ecclesiastes
is attributed to King Solomon. It’s described as ‘the noblest, the wisest, and
the most powerful expression of ... life upon this earth — and also the highest
flower of poetry, eloquence, and truth’.
Love - John 13:34 has more of Jesus’ words ‘A new
command I give you: love one another. As
I have loved you, so you must love one another.
But the 16th verse also includes a warning about the existence of evil, so we must
also be very careful. Similar to St Paul’s warning St Peter says: "Your
enemy the devil is on the prowl like a roaring lion, looking for someone to
devour" (1 Peter 5.8). Then we here another warning... ‘18 And
do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but ever be filled and
stimulated with the [Holy] Spirit.
In the
book of Luke Jesus says: "Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be
coarsened by debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life. ... Stay awake,
praying at all times for the strength to survive all that is going to happen,
and to hold your ground before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:34-36). And that's
what living in the Spirit of Jesus calls us to do.
The final
verses speak of our need to praise, give thanks and relate to others in the
Spirit of our Lord. The Serenity Prayer is the name given to an originally
untitled prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr. The prayer was adopted by Alcoholics
Anonymous. Its short version is often found on cards.
God, give
us grace to accept with serenity the
things that cannot be changed,
Courage
to change the things which
should be changed, and the
Wisdom to distinguish the one
from the other.
Living
one day at a time,
Enjoying
one moment at a time,
Accepting
hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking,
as Jesus did,
This
sinful world as it is,
Not as I
would have it,
Trusting
that You will make all things right,
If I
surrender to Your will,
So that I
may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the
next.
Amen.
