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“Is not wisdom found among the aged?  Does not long life bring understanding?”  Job 12:12

“I wish I knew then what I know now.”  Do you ever say that to yourself?  I do, and often.  “If I knew then what I know now I would have made a different choice, or I would not have done what I did or said what I said.”  Such is not an uncommon conversation many of us have with ourselves.  And even though we don’t get to go back and do do-overs – second chances perhaps, but not do-overs, what’s done is done! – what we gain from those mistakes and missteps of our past is wisdom.  That’s why wisdom is found among the aged.

Haven’t we all from time to time sought out the wisdom of our elders?  I think back to the years when we were raising our two sons.  On many occasions I sought my mother’s wisdom about parenting, especially when our boys were in their adolescent years.  Her counsel always concluded with the same encouragement.  “They’re good boys, they’ll be fine.”  She was right, of course, for they did turn out fine.  But how did she know?  I think it’s because she had traveled that same path and suffered the same frustrations and concerns raising my brother and me, also seeking wisdom and counsel from her own mother who probably gave her similar words of advice and encouragement.

Wisdom is not exclusive to the aged, of course; for some younger people can be exceptionally wise, while some older individuals are not so much.  The point is much less about age than it is about understanding; and those who open their minds and seek understanding will gain it.  Certainly long life contributes to understanding, but only for those who pay attention and learn from what they experience and observe.  Likewise, wisdom can be gained by anyone at any age who seeks it out from the wise.

“Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom,” says the writer of Proverbs.  “Though it cost all you have, get understanding.”  (Proverbs 4:7)

I wish I knew then what I know now, but I’m glad I know now what I didn’t know then.

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:  If one falls down, his friend can help him up.  But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!  – Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 

As I was exiting the parking garage of my office building recently I noticed an old friend walking down the sidewalk on the other side of the street.  We had worked together for many years but had lost touch.  So I pulled up to the curb where he was walking by and rolled down my window.  It was a brief reunion, but in the course of less than five minutes we were able to reminisce about our history together as well as catch up about our lives and our families.

That brief chance encounter reminded me how blessed I am to have accumulated so many relationships and friends over the years.  My old friend and I had fought many a battle together during our corporate days most of the time as comrades, but even occasionally as opponents.  But that is how friendships form, by engaging together in the ups and downs, the battles and the celebrations of life.

Life is designed for companionship, not isolation, for intimacy, not loneliness.  Thus we are here on earth for the purpose of serving God and others, not just ourselves.  True friends are bonded together in life’s realities, in helping one another and working together to help others, which is why my old friend and I felt such joy when we encountered each other.  An old poem describes it well, the treasure of friendships:

Cherish friendship in your breast –

New is good, but old is best;

Make new friends, but keep the old;

Those are silver, these are gold. 

Life is designed for companionship.  So, we must cherish our friendships; for  “Two are better than one . . . If one falls down, his friend can help him up.  But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!”

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
– Hebrews 11:1

Every single morning around 5:00 a.m. without fail our beloved pooch, Cowgirl, gets up from her doggy bed, stretches and shakes, then with a loud whiney yawn she puts her front paws up on my side of the bed and begins nudging me with her nose. It’s as if to say, “We’re burning daylight, time to get up!” Cowgirl, you see, is a living testimony of the definition of faith. She is sure of what she hopes for – that is, our early morning three mile jog – and certain of what she does not yet see – that is, some sort of excitement out there, another dog, a stray cat, or best of all a rabbit.

You know the feeling. Remember when you were a child and your birthday was approaching, how you would be excited and anxious at the same time? You were sure there would be a birthday cake and some other special treats, but you were also certain there would be surprises. Faith is like that, sort of a combination of assurance and anticipation, a conviction based on past experience and an expectation there will be even more to come. Cowgirl wakes up every morning with that assurance based on past experience that we’ll go for a jog, but also with the anticipation that there will be surprises along the way.

Faith is a response to God, an affirmation of the amazing abundance provided through His creation. It is about seeking and discovering knowledge, value, and inspiration from our experiences. It is responding to God by accepting his invitation to participate in the process, to be creators ourselves and offering our creations as gifts back to Him.

Simply put, faith is about being sure and certain, but with room left over for surprises. So imagine the surprise among the little ban of followers who were sure and certain Jesus was the Messiah, when three days after his brutal crucifixion and burial they discovered his tomb empty, that he had risen! That was a surprise beyond their wildest dreams – as well as ours. But it is true, and we joyfully celebrate that the Lord is risen. Now we can be sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. The Lord is risen indeed!

“Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”  – Luke 12:15 

“There’s a-plenty!”  It was one of my grandmother’s favorite expressions.  Although my grandparents lived about an hour away in another town, because my dad was involved in the family business he would go there at least once a week.  So, during the summer months when school was out I would often go with him and spend the day with my grandparents while he tended to business.  On those days when we came to town my grandmother would cook an enormous lunch usually consisting of what appeared to be a mountain of delicious fried chicken, gravy, mashed potatoes, and all sorts of fresh vegetables grown in her garden.  Then without fail after we all had our fill she would pass around the platter of chicken one more time along with her favorite expression, “Go ahead, take some more.  There’s a-plenty!”  And to this very day my brother and I can hardly have a meal together, even so much as a hamburger, without one of us bringing up our grandmother’s memorable quote.  “Go ahead, have some more French fries,” one of us will inevitably say.  “There’s a-plenty!”

A-plenty was a good description of my grandmother who was a woman of means.  She lived in a big house with lots of stuff, a nice plot of land from which grew a bountiful harvest of vegetables, plus hens that produced lots of eggs and cows for milk and butter.  My grandmother wanted for little, but neither was she in love with her possessions.  If anything she seemed intent on giving away – especially to the needy – rather than acquiring more.  During those summertime luncheon feasts I can remember her handing out plates-full of food out her back door to hobos and transients who wandered down her back alley.  And toward the end of her life she expressed practically no emotion in giving away or liquidating what remained of her possessions.  If asked I suspect she would have described herself as a steward appointed to oversee God’s possessions rather than the owner of them.

“A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”  Isn’t it amazing that for those who are generous rather than greedy there always seems to be “a-plenty”!

 “. . . choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. . . . as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”  – Joshua 24:15 

Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) spent 2,338 days (that’s nearly six and a half years) in British jails.  Far from considering it punishment, however, Gandhi chose to use his imprisonment as an extended time for reflection and writing.  The result was that no human in recent history had greater influence on our world through a course of non-violence, having led a fifth of the world’s population to independence. 

“Next to life itself,” according to Stephen Covey, “the power to choose is your greatest gift.”  Every human being, regardless of circumstances, is granted the gift to choose.  Most of us chose what to wear today from a wide array of garments hanging in the closet, and chose from a variety of foods in the pantry what to eat for breakfast.  We may take this for granted, but most of us are probably grateful for these choices.  Choice, however, is not limited to the privileged middle and upper classes.  Consider the opposite extreme.  Those for instance, who suffered the atrocities, abuse, disease and starvation of the concentration camps either chose to share and help their fellow prisoners, or they chose to focus on self-survival.  Though difficult to imagine, the gift of choice, limited though it may have been, still existed within those horrendous conditions. 

Covey, in his definition, uses the word “power”, for we are indeed empowered by the gift of choice.  Covey goes on to say the following:  “This power and freedom stand in stark contrast to the mind-set of victim-ism and culture of blame so prevalent in society today. Your power to choose the direction of your life allows you to reinvent yourself, to change your future, and to powerfully influence the rest of creation.  It is the one gift that enables all the gifts to be used; it is the one gift that enables us to elevate our life to higher and higher levels.” 

Joshua challenges each of us to “choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.”  Gandhi chose to serve a higher purpose over victim-ism, thus changing the world.  You and I have that same power of choice.  Whom then will we choose this day to serve?