Proverbs 2:10: The Walter Peck in us all

“for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;”
-Proverbs 2:10

I was listening to a sermon this morning which was about, in part, how the new birth changes us. How we were once dead, and now live. How we can now see where once there was darkness.

And then the pastor said something very interesting to me, because it is something I’ve had to deal with when it comes to this blog. He said that if we use these sorts of phrases to people on the street (like, “We are all dead unless we have Jesus”), they will think we are mad.

I’ve had to think about that a lot in this blog, because Proverbs says things that are sometimes offensive to people who do not believe. Such as when it says that God is the source of wisdom and you can only get it from Him.

I am reminded of Walter Peck. Do you remember this character from Ghostbusters? He was from the EPA, and he was so determined to expose the Ghostbusters as frauds that he ends up releasing all the ghosts and causing terrible destruction.

We find this sort of person in life a lot (especially in customer service departments of major corporations). They aren’t necessary bad people, but they just don’t see the whole picture. Sometimes we are like that too. We find ourselves arguing a small point only, later, to realize that the issue was a much greater one.

I have to admit, if I had been a character in the movie Ghostbusters, I probably would have thought the whole thing was a scam.

When we encounter Christ in a real, there is an understanding of things that seemed so unimportant before. For me, I suddenly realized how my whole life had been leading toward Him, and I had an understanding of how He had been guiding me the whole time.

It was a very pleasant feeling, seeing all of this for the first time, even though I had lived it for more than twenty years.

When we speak of wisdom, we are speaking to the knowledge of our true place in this world, the true Power behind it all, and those things that are truly important. These are the things Jesus reveals.

And they can only come from Jesus and no other source. The reason for this is a simple one. Because we have done wrong in lust, greed, selfishness, and hatred, we fail to reach the standard of holiness needed to enter the presence of God. We have doomed ourselves in our thoughts, actions, and words.

Every other major religion in the world tells us to do better and make it up to God. But God is not someone who can be paid off in good works. He asks for holiness. Spiritually, we are dead in sin.

Jesus came to earth and lived a perfect life. Because He did that, He was able to take on our sin when He died on the Cross. He took our sins, and we can therefore take on His righteousness.

But this can only happen if we believe. Like Walter Peck, a lack of belief will only lead to disaster for us. It is only through faith that we find life. Repent of those years you tried to make it on your own and follow Him. You will find your eyes opened, and you will see as though for the first time. It will be pleasant to your soul.