I love all who love me. Those who search for me will surely find me.

Sin and a way out

Though the bad news is devastatingthat we are, in our sinful nature, contrary to God's character and out of line with His foundation of wisdomthe good news is that we can change. Wisdom does not remain forever elusive, no matter how firmly we have rejected it in the past.

The wisdom of God will lead us to the cross of Jesus, of course. That is where all of our former futility is redeemed and our rebellion forgiven. A humble bow before the sacrificial Lamb will cleanse us of the muck of this world and put us on a path of discipleship. But once we have passed through that Cross, we must cultivate our love for the eternal. We must pursue wisdom with a passion. We must become enamored with the righteous ways of the world as it was meant to be.

If you are ever lacking in perspective, read the first two and the last two chapters of the Bible. Genesis 1-2 and Revelation 21-22 are pictures of perfection. From paradise to paradise, from the Garden of Eden to the city of God, from the dust of the earth to the bride of Christ, wisdom rules. Take away the huge parentheses on the sin problemGenesis 3 through Revelation 20 and you'll clearly see the holiness of God and the beauty of His handiwork. It's often hard, in this parenthetical interim, to see such beauty, but it's there. It's our origin and our destiny, all rolled into one.

As you read those four chapters, the eternal bookends on either side of the temporal sin-problem, let your love grow deep for your Creator and Redeemer. As a plant stretches toward the sunlight, let your life grow toward His wisdom. Open up before Him, and let yourself love His ways.

Adapted from The One Year® Walk with God Devotional by Chris Tiegreen, Tyndale House Publishers (2004), entry for May 6.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House