You can't do it, can you? With your imagination in high gear, you can't picture a tiny flea constructing a living, breathing, barking dog. The task is so far from possible; so unlikely, our human brains can't even dream of such a thing happening. But scientists live and die trying to invent a computer that can do the things our brain does every moment, and 'without a second thought'; without any real effort at all.
Libraries of big fat books and endless
compact disks have been published about the indescribable gray matter
between our ears. Scientists impress themselves with monstrous words
that label parts of our brain, but only show us over and over, how
futile; how impossible, to build anything that can even be compared
to God's creations – that were spoken into existence. It's a clear
bold example of that flea that is trying to create a dog.
We are looking at the journey of Jesus
growing in the same journey that you and I have. Along this journey,
the medical doctor Luke, is giving us a POWER LIST of attributes that
Jesus makes a part of his humanity; his growing. This portion of that
power list is grouped as a quartet; a set of four areas of every life
that is healthy, God-honoring, full of joy, love, peace, and purpose.
That quartet is Mental, Physical, Spiritual, and Social. We'll be
seeing their value in producing and progress in our lives.
Our first one is WISDOM or mental.
Wisdom is far different than knowledge and data. Our knowledge can
tell us, “Oh yes, this is a pencil. It needs to be kept sharp. I
need to always remember where I leave it, so I can use it again.”
Computers do a pretty good job listing data and knowledge. But
knowledge and wisdom are as different as that flea and the dog.
Wisdom is knowing the way and when to use that pencil. Wisdom is the
partnering of knowledge with love, compassion, preparation, and most
importantly – a deep sense of what God's will is for me.
Look again, slowly, that partnership of
wisdom, we just listed. None of the 'partners' with knowledge are
used or understood by those digital computers we have all around us.
It's crucial we keep a careful distinction between knowledge and
wisdom, in our lives.
The WISDOM (mental) attribute in Jesus'
Power List can be divided into its own quartet. That mental quartet
becomes MY THOUGHTS, MY ATTITUDES/MOTIVES, MY MEDITATION, and MY
STUDIES.
MENTAL QUARTET
MY THOUGHTS are the basic 'start here'
foundation of the rest of this mental quartet. Our thoughts are the
bricks with which we form our ideas. A good verse to tie this to
scripture is Philippians 4:8.
MY ATTITUDES/MOTIVES are a team
themselves. Our attitudes are our value of something, “How much is
it worth to me?” Our motives are our answer to why we do this or do
that. Often we do things we know we are supposed to do, but we do it
for the wrong reason; we don't have the right 'why'.
Link this with God's Word, Proverbs
23:7 and Philippians 1:10.
MY MEDITATION is the process of digging
deep with my thoughts. My meditation works hard at sorting out things
and putting them in an order that pleases God. The book of Psalms
opens with our reference that beautifully nails down what our
meditation should be like. Psalm 1:2.
MY STUDIES. No one needs to explain to
us that eating the right foods, at the right times and portions are
critical to strong healthy bodies. The same thing is true with our
minds; our thoughts, and the rest of the mental quartet. Someone once
said, “GIGO. It stands for garbage in, garbage out.” It's very
simple and powerfully true. What we study, what we read, see and hear
all must share the goal of our FULL JOY that is only possible through
following an serving the Lord. Like enjoying a tasty food, I always
enjoy meditating on the phrase in 1 Thessalonians 4:11, “Study to
be quiet.”
Next time we'll see the next attribute
– PHYSICAL, on the POWER LIST of Jesus as he grows into and through
his teenage years.
(Note:
adapted from “The Balanced Life – Youth For Christ (aka Campus
Life)
