Proverbs 4:9 “She will place on your head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown”
I remember a time when Wendy and I were in India. We were being shown around various activities of the church there as well as Vision Rescue in Mumbai. I guess I had some exposure to poverty after being involved in short term missionary work in Honduras over a twenty-year period. People there live on a handful of rice a day, families live at the municipal dump, prisons are overcrowded and justice is a lottery at times.
Mumbai, with its thirty million inhabitants, is another level. The sheer weight of humanity, traffic jams at 4 am the noise and colours and constant hustle just to survive. Cyclists with a thousand plastic bottles tied to themselves, precariously making their way somewhere. Children of all ages on every street corner, touching the hands to their mouths in the universal sign for “feed me”. We went to the bible college and there we met so many young men who were literally leaving everything behind to follow the call of God in their lives. We visited orphanages for children who had been abandoned by their HIV parents. We will never really know the struggles and pain of some of these parents.
We went to the shanty towns and helped feed an endless line of young children day after day. We met the volunteers who help cook the food and teach the kids and run the dental van etc. Moments when sadness rolls over you and you feel overwhelmed and helpless, moments when the joy in a child’s eyes that you have taken time to notice them brings tears close to the surface, unguarded moments of humanity at its best, shrinking moments of humanity at its worst, the empty awfulness of a red-light district in the middle of this chaos. Colour and noise.
We were in a church one day visiting when the elders asked us to go up on stage, and there they ceremoniously honoured us and draped beautiful scarves over our heads and shoulders. I was so humbled, so aware of my inadequacy, my underserving state. That night I cried for the humanity of Mumbai. Wendy and I would do whatever we could, and keep doing whatever we can.
KNOWLEDGE
We can sense the underlying tones here, the mystery of the work of wisdom. The full impact of an encounter with pure moral goodness. There is such a flavour of Jesus in this verse – from being touched and established by grace, to the parental love protecting us entirely, and then the celebration over us.
If we will accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour this is our encounter, we have undeserved favour with him, simply put, we live in grace, receiving from the divine exchange his righteousness imparted to us, and our sinful nature crucified with him. It will be like a garland of flowers on our head – everyone will see that there is something different about us, not earned, not self-established, but bestowed………
We are rescued, and then there is an aspect of a continuous verb in that we are continually being rescued every second of every day, we are guided, instructed, given insights, wisdom is imparted, we are led, and fed, we will see a set back turn in to a piggyback, we receive undeserved celebration, unwarranted status, and unbelievable favour. Our shame is wiped away by the blood of Jesus and as he lifts our heads, he places a crown on us that marks us as his child, and establishes us with his authority, and connects us with his Holy Spirit.
Wisdom personified is Jesus Christ, make Him the source of your seeking and you will experience life like none other. As the New Testament puts it in Matt 10:39 – Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
UNDERSTANDING
Let’s pick one word from this verse to look closer at and see if that can help us gain a deeper insight into how God would love us to live?
The word for “bestow” in Hebrew is pronounced “magan” and this word appears 3 times in the Old Testament. It is translated into English in the ERSV as, delivered [Gen 14:20]; bestow [Prov 4:9]; and, hand you over [Hos 11:8]. To me in this verse, we could pick up on the idea of a presentation – we will be presented with…
WISDOM: what have you lost and what have you found?
STRENGTHS THOUGHT: Connectedness has a big picture view that is solidly anchored in meaning and purpose for all. Be intentional at coming alongside others who are thrown by changing circumstances.
Allan’s Unauthorised Version – [she (wisdom) will personally bestow authority and status on me. I will be well-favoured as a work of wisdom, and presented with honour as a celebration of this status.]
PRAYER: Father, thank you for today. Help me please to realise more and more the work of Christ in me, the way of wisdom for me, and the hope of salvation through me. Thank you.
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Hi ps Allan; thx u for God words ; but today is sad story about the humans being special children ; is a lots of poverty around the world
Increíble but i see my own life how God rescuer to me .
Salvation is one of thing beautiful happens in my life .
I love this- Moments when sadness rolls over you and you feel overwhelmed and helpless, moments when the joy in a child’s eyes that you have taken time to notice them brings tears close to the surface.
Thanks Ps Allan for sharing you and Wendy’s story when you visited India.
Thank you pastor Allan.
‘Wisdom personified is Jesus Christ, make Him the source of your seeking and you will experience a life like none other‘
What powerful words Allan. When we seek none other than Christ, when he becomes the source and the reason for all that we seek and all that we do in life, our lives can and will be changed forever. Changed with eternal purpose. And we will see fruit in our lives that would never have been produced if it were not for that constant and relentless seeking.
God bless you Pastor Allan and Wendy. God is our garland: that something special that only God through Jesus Christ can provide.
Thank you for sharing about your time in India with Wendy and bringing awareness.
Love your strength thought – Be intentional at coming alongside others who are thrown by changing circumstances.
Be Intentional – such a significant word.
Great Ps Allan.
“Bestowed” is such a lovely picture of how God gifts it’s to us
Such a powerful & moving experience Pastor Allan of how blessed & favoured we are. Thank you for reminding me & bringing perspective to my life again!
The type of human misery & poverty you describe particularly for such precious children is heartbreaking & such a grief to the Holy Spirit. Without the hope of Christ Who is our source of all wisdom & knowing the Good News we are all living in misery & hopelessness. What a great humbling experience to be called the children of a loving Father God & be bestowed with such grace & blessings of all He promises in His Word as well as the hope of eternal life. How humbling & undeserved it is to be loved by Him when we were yet sinners! It is an ever unfolding revelation that is often beyond our understanding & all I can do is kneel in praise & worship to Him with a grateful & thankful heart. Such an unfathomable kindness that He would place a graceful garland on my head & bestow a beautiful crown on me when I desperately seek Him in gaining knowledge & understanding of Who He is shows me what a loving kind & good Father I serve.
What have I lost and what have I found ,?
I have lost an unrealistic fairytale BUT found the unfailing true love of Christ who sustains me every day.
Pastor that is soooo good, that I believe that you are special man to do these things, because not everyone can do this kind of job, if God had not Craced you and Wendy to do this, and I know you and Wendy are a blessing to us here.
I never realised how much you have traveled, touching people lives and you continue to do today, may God continue to bless you so that you can continue to touch all our lives with your wisdom n knowledge (& laughter)😉👍🏾, God Bless.
The extreme poverty and the extreme wealth in India is beyond words. Such disparity. Such cruelty but God is still on the throne.
Allan thank you for sharing that story .
There is so much to take away and meditate on in your writing today .
Continually being rescued is what resonates with me most today . Thank you beautiful word
This message brings back many memories; heartbreaking scenes of poverty , the feeling of helplessness but also the radiant joy and hope on those little faces when given something small.
Godly wisdom guards us against making wrong decisions, helps us to stand firm and gives us the courage to say no to temptation.
What an incredible testimony. GOD’s love for us no matter where, no matter who. It is magnificent to consider and reflect on. Thank you Allan.