The Wise Seek Jesus

What would be the one attribute you would want for your children at any age? Would you want them to be rich, smart, beautiful, handsome, athletic, strong, famous, or funny? None of these attributes guarantees a great life. In fact, having any one of these characteristics could lead to a life of pain and regret. There are miserable people all over who have these characteristics. Who wants to go through life miserable and misdirected?

Now if I could ask for anything, I would wish that my children and future grandchildren would be wise. Not rich, not smart, not beautiful, not handsome, not athletic, not strong, not famous, and not funny. Now it would be great if they had these characteristics, but without wisdom, they are in trouble.

On top of asking for wisdom, I would ask that they have godly wisdom, to be more precise. There are two types of wisdom: worldly and godly. Worldly wisdom impresses others but doesn’t lead to a great life. On the other hand, godly wisdom leads to a life of meaning, direction, and purpose, and a great eternal destiny. If a person possesses godly wisdom, natural by-products include more joy and peace, even in the face of adversity, difficulties, and turmoil.

For my vote, godly wisdom is what I would ask for and hope for you. And guess what? It is easy to get. All the other characteristics might be impossible to obtain, but godly wisdom is available to anyone who puts their trust and faith in Jesus and then asks God for His wisdom. It is all that simple. God made it simple. You don’t have to earn it or work for it. All you have to do is ask for forgiveness and believe that Jesus is your Savior. In a moment, if you are truly sincere, you can ask God for wisdom. It doesn’t get any simpler. It is so easy. Others might want to argue and disagree, but it really is that simple.

So that is what I would hope for my children, grandchildren, and everyone: godly wisdom.

As you know, I don’t seem to be able to explain myself very well at times, and my English grammar is lacking. I barely got through high school English, and thankfully, when I went to college to study engineering, the only English class I had was on technical writing. Again, I barely passed. But I am determined to write to you, my children and future grandchildren, about what I hope and pray for each of you.

During Christmas 2019, my father gave me a book by Larry Thornton titled Why Not Win? Specifically, two things stood out to me: being the best you can be and passing on your thoughts and challenges to your family. Larry came from an impoverished family in Montgomery and was a few years older than me. I was born with all the benefits of a white, middle-class upbringing, whereas Larry was brought up in a Black family that barely scraped by. But Larry wanted more. He was willing to go the extra mile, do more than was asked, learn what he didn’t know, and be all that God had planned for him.

I wrote him a letter saying how inspirational his book was for me. He subsequently called me, and we scheduled a meeting at one of his stores in January 2020. At that meeting, he told me he had written his book for his family, and he was sure that not all of them had read it yet. This didn’t seem to bother him, and he was just so enthusiastic about his next steps. He was creating a college course based on the book. From my experience, they don’t teach you in college about how to win at life, and I thought Larry was onto something. I can’t wait to see how God uses Larry further.

At about this same time, my father gave me a short autobiography he had written. I was busy and placed it on my desk, intending to get to it. A month passed before I read it. I just wasn’t ready to read it when he wanted me to.

Add to this, I had several friends pass away. They wanted to say so much at the end, but their strength and their minds were failing them. Unfortunately, they waited too late to say what was on their hearts.

With this all swirling in my head, I decided I wanted to pass on some thoughts before it was too late for me. Also, if I waited to do so when I was in the hospital, chances are those present wouldn’t remember what I said, and they might not be ready to receive what I wanted to pass along.

So at the beginning of 2020, I prayed about what I wanted to say, and it came to me. I had been reading Proverbs in 2019 and read some additional books on Solomon, the author. I was fascinated about gaining wisdom and being all that God intended me to be. I also fascinated about the wise men who sought Jesus and why we call them wise.

This book is a compilation of almost all the passages in the Bible that mention being wise and having wisdom. At times, I wasn’t sure what to write, but words just miraculously started to flow. I’m no biblical scholar, but I believe that every word in the Bible is true. We all might interpret it differently, but if you believe what is written, we all can come back into agreement that God loves us, the Lord sent His Son, Jesus, to save us, and He has a plan for us while we are on earth and then for eternity.

I hope that you will believe the same. Life only has purpose and meaning when filtered through Jesus.

So what comes through these next chapters is a case for Jesus and how He has changed my life forever.