Snippets of Wisdom

The glory of young men is their strength, 

but the splendor of old men is their gray hair. 

Prov 20:29

My hair is graying. And I like it. It’s not as beautiful as the hair of some of my friends. I have to help it out a bit with the clever magic of a hair dresser. But I like it.

I remember years ago asking a friend to tell me when she thought I should start coloring or highlighting my hair. I had never been one to experiment with color. But then I had a child at 42 and didn’t want to look like his grandmother. It wasn’t for another ten years before she told me, “It’s time.”

How old do you have to be to be “old"?  Our kids asked us to move to be near one of them before we turned seventy. They were right. This move just about did me in. Still I want to believe one is not old until she is eighty. Yet there are situations where a forty year old woman is old enough to be an “older woman” to a young woman.

It isn’t the gray hair that makes an old person full of splendor. It is the experience that they have gained while their hair was turning gray. It is impossible for young people, no matter how strong, to have that experience. 

It’s also true that just having gray hair does not make one wise. But if those experiences have been wrapped in grace and truth, wisdom will be the outcome.

Wisdom is where grace and truth intersect. Jesus, who is wisdom personified, was “The Word became flesh and dwelled among us. We have seen his glory, the glory he has as the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:12).

I am a daily recipient of grace. Abundant grace. Grace that pardons. Grace that teaches. Grace that directs and heals.

I have been blessed with many years of having been instructed in truth. My parents took me to church whenever the doors were open. My youth pastor taught me to study the bible for myself and encouraged me to memorize huge passages of scripture. I married a pastor who is still my favorite preacher. I’ve been to seminars and workshops on studying and teaching the Bible. I’m a reader of good theology books and commentaries. I am blessed.

I was talking with one of my daughters the other day and she told me I should write down some of the marriage wisdom I have. I had never thought of myself as someone with marriage wisdom to give to others. But the thought kept coming back. Grace and truth. Gifts given to me. Gifts I could give to another.

What do we have that we had not received? (1 Cor. 4:7) and what we have received is meant to be shared. (1 Peter 4:10)

So for the next few blogs, I am going to share Snippets of Wisdom. Small bits and pieces of what grace and truth have taught me.

Let’s start by noticing the importance of the combination of Grace and Truth. One without the other is a distortion of the real thing.

Grace without truth usually looks kind, understanding, forgiving. This can easily evolve into giving sentimental excuses to stay immature and not grow up into Christlikeness. Grace without truth is afraid of giving any kind of advice even to the point of watering down clear directives of scripture. 

Real grace is born out of the truth that we are sinners. Only sinners need grace. And the grace that saves is also the grace that changes us. We learned about grace from the Bible. And it is the Bible that teaches us that we are new creations with new hearts that are meant to grow in grace. 

Truth without grace is harsh and punitive. It has no heart. It sets itself up as a model and judge. It demands a perfection that it is unable to match. 

Gospel truth humbly remembers where we came from and where we are going and who is Lord over all. It doesn’t claim to be all knowing. It acknowledges difficult situations exist. It comes alongside someone where she is at and gently points to the relevant passages of scripture while acknowledging the need for the help of the Holy Spirit. It waits patiently for God to do heart work remembering the work He has done for her. 

I can err on both sides. Grace without truth and truth without grace. Usually I lean toward the opposite side of someone I sense is out of balance the other way - as if my leaning will correct the imbalance!  

In the coming weeks as I share with you Snippets of Wisdom, I will be praying:

Oh Lord, help me look only to you - full of grace and truth. 

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

    be acceptable in your sight,

    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14

May my words both delight, and be words of truth. May they challenge and comfort. (Ecclesiastes 12:10,11) 

And - if you have gray hair and wouldn’t mind showing it off, please send me a photo to add to one of these blogs!