Blog #79 January 30, 2024
God loves us and wants to be loved by us. God is the creator of all and possesses all understanding. He seeks to share with us all that He has and all that He knows. God is strength that is invincible and everlasting, but we must understand that He does not use this strength to rule over us. Instead, He seeks for us to be one with Him in our labor. He seeks to counsel us, teach us, and help us grow that we might become His Kingdom. This is not the way of an omnipotent ruler and judge of the universe for they build that their power and authority live in the lives of all they rule forever. This is the way of a loving Father who seeks to give to all His children all they want and all they need forever and ever.
Romans 8:13-15
8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, unto sin, ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live unto Christ.
8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption; whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
For us to have the Kingdom of God within us, we must first realize that we are given no responsibility before God that we did not willingly seek. Choosing to view it as a mandate by God and a responsibility we are forced to follow is a lie that can and will separate us from the true nature of the communion we seek with the Father. Realize that we seek the Kingdom and accept the covenant labor required because we ask for it. In our heart, we must allow it to become precious, that which we want more than anything. We must allow our connection to God, the Kingdom of God, and the people of God as those blessings, which make living complete. In that attitude, we will come to realize that the Father in His love for us, wants us to have them. This aspect of God is a perception that the world refuses to accept. But it is in truth a wisdom we must grasp, treasure, and share with the world.
Psalms 37:3-5
37:3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
37:4 Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
37:5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
Recognize the love God offers and seek to answer Him in kind. Realize that we must open our heart to what is given before we can ever give back. Our ability to love God is based on His willingness to love us, and our ability to accept what is given, but that is just the beginning.
1 John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.
The foundation of any true covenant is the love each has for the other and the purpose they share. We tend to understand that as it applies to our covenant spouse and our love for God, but that same love needs to be applied to the fellowship around us. We gather as a people sharing the love of God. It is very personal and wholly communal at the same time. It sustains the covenant we share and guarantees its growth. It is our reason for today and our purpose for tomorrow. If it is not absolute and thriving, it does not exist, for the minute is quits growing it begins to die.
1 John 4:16-21
4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as he is, so are we in this world.
4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear; because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.
4:20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
4:21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
Fear does not create a covenant. Reverence and respect both fall short. Only love in its purest form will open the gates of the Kingdom. This is wisdom to be accepted and used. If we are to become citizens of this holy fellowship, our kinship must be rooted in love for one another. It must be vital, growing, and ever ready to produce fruit worthy of the Kingdom. God seems to think we can accomplish this. We must believe that His confidence in us comes from a knowledge we have yet to possess. But rest assured it is ours if we willingly reach out to Him in love, but we must do it together as one.
1 Nephi 2:100-102
2:100 But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning;
2:101 Wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words.
2:102 And thus it is. Amen.
Proverbs 8:18-21
8:18 Riches and honor are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness.
8:19 My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.
8:20 I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment.
8:21 That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.
The more times we read this passage, the more we come to see the wisdom as alive and thriving; almost as if wisdom were a person as well as a concept. Hold on to this notion. God gives it for a light unto our understanding. If wisdom is just a concept, we hold it as one of the many beliefs we possess. In that, it can be corrupted and changed to meet the needs of the day, and no one is harmed. If we give wisdom the attributes of humanity, she becomes alive within us as a companion outside of our ability to corrupt in a moment of weakness. She becomes our friend who reflects the love for us that we have for her. She gives us the ability to cherish her and protect her from those that would cause her to fall.
Proverbs 8:22-23
8:22 The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.
8:23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.
Proverbs 8:30 Then I was by him, as one brought up with him; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him;
The more we hear of wisdom within a man, the more we feel we know her. Instead of some “thing”, wisdom becomes someone that we can love, cherish, and depend on.
1 Corinthians 1:30-31
1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption;
1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
Our covenant with God through Jesus Christ is a path both straight and narrow. By pursuing the wisdom of God through Christ, we grow. Our growth in wisdom opens the door to an understanding of righteousness. Within righteousness, we find the need and the ability to repent. The humility of repentance is that which opens our heart to be sanctified by God, and we change. This new heart opens our lives to labor with the Lord in His purpose. In these works, we seek to share our redemption with all mankind.
2 Nephi 13:24-29
13:24 For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water: and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire, and by the Holy Ghost.
13:25 And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son;
13:26 And ye have received the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye enter in by the way, ye should receive.
13:27 And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask, if all is done?
13:28 Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far, save it were by the word of Christ, with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save;
13:29 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men.
Proverbs 8:32-36
8:32 Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children; for blessed are they that keep my ways.
8:33 Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.
8:34 Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.
8:35 For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favor of the Lord.
8:36 But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul; all they that hate me love death.
After reading the last two passages from Proverbs, I feel a need to open our minds to an important aspect of God’s wisdom. Theologians would argue that each of the aspects of these passages we attribute to wisdom actually describes Jesus Christ. I will not argue that point because it is true. Each aspect whether temporal or spiritual, accurately describes the man, the nature, and the purpose of Christ on earth during His ministry. Oddly enough they also describe God and for that matter they describe all who are sent to preach the word and all who live in the word. In truth, the attributes of the wisdom of God describe all those who have attained oneness with God. In John 17 Christ prayed to the Father that all who believe might share oneness of nature and dedication to the purpose of bringing the Kingdom of God to the world.
John 17:20-23
17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
17:22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one;
17:23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
I am convinced that the wisdom of God we seek will be incomplete and useless if it fails to create among the people of God oneness. If and when we are willing to face the world as one in God, our labor for the Kingdom will begin in earnest. I believe that God feels this way, too.
Doctrine and Covenants 36:2h-2i
36:2h And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness;
36:2i and there was no poor among them; and Enoch continued his preaching in righteousness unto the people of God.
Our growth in the wisdom of God is essential to the cause of Zion. It is also an eternal endeavor. Being eternal, it is also without beginning or end.
1 Nephi 3:29-32
3:29 For he that diligently seeketh shall find;
3:30 And the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in this time as in times of old;
3:31 And as well in times of old as in times to come;
3:32 Wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round.
God’s wisdom is something we gain that we might share it. Oddly enough, the more we give away, the more we gain. Such is the way of the Kingdom, and such is the way of the wisdom of God. Understand, all we learn we will later teach. Whether that is by word or deed, instruction or example, we will teach it. Whether it is words we profess or that which another sees in the life we live, we are teaching. That which we seek is for God’s wisdom to become ours that we might share it with all who seek it. In this act, we become more like God. This statement begs the question, “Do we seek to become God?” No, we seek to be one with God and in that have Him to be one with us. Through the Holy Spirit, God’s wisdom becomes our companion and our mentor. By Him and His wisdom, we live. Without both, we will die.
FRED