Friday, August 5
Above all else
Scripture: Jeremiah 9-10, Revelation 8
Jeremiah 9:23–24
23 “ ‘This is what the Lord says:
The wise person should not boast in his wisdom;
the strong should not boast in his strength;
the wealthy should not boast in his wealth.
24 But the one who boasts should boast in this:
that he understands and knows me—
that I am the Lord, showing faithful love,
justice, and righteousness on the earth,
for I delight in these things.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Observation
In the midst of the weeping prophecies of judgment lies this gem. The wise don’t boast of their wisdom, strength or wealth, but that they know the Lord who shows faithful love, justice and righteousness.
This is counter-intuitive in our world, as it was in theirs. It runs against the grain of our culture where we naturally boast in our wisdom, strength, wealth, achievements. But the most important part of life is that we know God and understand His ways.
Application
This means that God is not only our boast but the object of our pursuit. Think of the time and energy we invest in pursuing wisdom (our education), strength (our physical well-being), and wealth (money and success). All of these are good and worth pursuing, and life is definitely better with them than without them. But more important than all of them is knowing God (our spiritual well-being).
As Paul says in 1 Timothy 4:8 “For the training of the body has limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” What is true of physical training—that it has limited value (limited to our life on earth)—is true of all human endeavor. It has value, but limits. But knowing God is forever.
So make this your boast, your pursuit: “that you know and understand Me.” Not to the exclusion of the other things, but as a priority. Above all else.
Prayer: Today Lord help me to make my relationship with You #1 in my life. It’s so easy for everything else to crowd it out. The squeaky wheel gets the grease and You aren’t squeaky. But You are important—worthy of my attention. Help me boast in You above all else.