“³⁰The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.” – Proverbs 11:30 (ESV)

When we are working to follow the life of Christ, we find ourselves in a position to attract others to Christ.

I think of sitting on the back porch on a calm summer evening. You sit just observing and listening and to your amazement you see a flickering light there in the yard. You start looking for it, and it alludes your eye until you catch it to your left, but only for a moment. Then again to your right. Soon you are calm yourself and see them one by one appear in front of you, tens of them. You find yourself calming even more and drawn to enjoyment of the beauty of the firefly.

I envision us as beacons of light that draw in others. We are those fireflies minding our own business, doing the work of God. When suddenly others are captivated at what it is that we have and offer. A calmness of ourselves that elicits a calmness for others.

When you are out in the world, are you bringing calm? Are you being the light for others? Is your life capturing lives for Christ?

“³²And now, O sons, listen to me: blessed are those who keep my ways. ³³Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. ³⁴Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. ³⁵For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord, ³⁶But he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.” – Proverbs 8:32-36 (ESV)

This passage is spoken from the perspective of Wisdom, as is all of Proverbs 8.

When we are heeding Wisdom, we are blessed, find favor from the Lord, and find life (ESV Commentary).

So what does it look like to find life? Well, we are no longer looking for where we belong. We are able to proceed with purpose. We end up making fewer damaging choices. We are able to move forward instead of looking back to see if something is going to catch up with us.

I look for ways to move on and not dwell on things from before. Wisdom gives me that freedom. I will be able to proceed with confidence and remove worry.

Where are you as relates to Wisdom? Are you able to look forward with purpose? Are you finding Wisdom leads to your finding life?

“²¹With much seductive speech she persuades him with her smooth talk she compels him. ²²All at once he follows her as an ox goes to the slaughter, or a stag is caught fast ²³till an arrow pierces it liver; as a bird rushes into a snare; he does not know that it will cost him his life.” – Proverbs 7:21-23 (ESV)

Falling for the temptation will lead to destruction. It is up to us to stay on the right path.

What is that right path? Well I believe that we know that one and so does the temptress. We are to stick to the light and avoid the shadows. Avoid the little things that lead to bigger things. Each of the “little” things of their own are not much and we are able to resist or work past them. But, those “little” things we are able to work past give us confidence to take on “bigger” more tempting things and we find ourselves less likely to resist. I know that I am human and certainly am not strong enough to resist.

The only way that I have been able to resist is to avoid completely. I had a scenario play out at the office where I was completely in the dark about something. I went to chat and congratulate someone for something and found that someone else was involved as well. I was taken aback as I had known each of them for about 2 years and how did I not know. The person said to me “because you are not up in everyone’s business around here”.

How much do we get into that makes no difference in our lives? How much should we just avoid and get on with what matters? How much should we just stay on the right path?

“²⁰My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching. ²³For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,” – Proverbs 6:20 & 23 (ESV)

I encourage reading of the full passage of Proverbs 6:20-35 as it is a great passage to teach us more about how passion gets in the way of rational thought. I want to focus on the passage above as a starter to how to get through life.

I have titled this study, “Way of Life: Commands, Teachings, and Discipline”. I truly believe that this is a great way to progress through this life on earth.

We have been given parents, teacher, mentors, elders, and others in this world that have lived life already. Real people that have made mistakes and recovered, or learned from the mistakes of others and they provide wisdom for us to absorb as we walk through life. They have experienced it already and bring to us the consequences of actions to contemplate prior to taking action ourselves.

Why do we still choose to try it ourselves? Because we are human and we learn by doing. That is the only reason I can think of aside from our arrogance and stubbornness to believe that we know better.

As parents ourselves, I know that there are areas that we have failed to teach our sons. We cannot remember to command and teach all things, but we can them discipline to minimize the damage that comes with the mistakes they will make as they learn on their own.

What are some of the things that you may have learned that you have failed to heed? Where are you able to get back to by looking back at some of the commands from those with experience? Are you able to get back on the way of life through those commands, teachings, and discipline?

“¹Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! ²It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! ³It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.” – Psalm 133:1-3 (ESV)

Can you imagine a world where all “dwell in unity”? Imagine a healthy respect for one another. Imagine love for each other.

I have seen the bumper stickers of the word “coexist” written in symbols of different religions. Where I may not fully understand what that means in the hearts of others, I can apply it to the idea of dwelling in unity. A world where we would love one another and work together for the common cause of spreading the gospel. We have to be careful not to believe that we will always get along and agree with one another on all items, however our purpose should be something that we all should agree. Isn’t that our task as laid out by God in Matthew 28:19-20 (The Great Commission)?

And when we are in unity with our purpose and carrying out God’s plan, then we are blessed by God with “life forevermore”. Our lives are blessed when we are working for the greatness of God. When we are working together to bring God to the people, we are fulfilling our end of the agreement and God will uphold His.

Are you working with your fellow man in unity of purpose? Are you experiencing the blessings of God? Are you receiving “life forevermore” as we “dwell in unity” with our fellow man?

We find ourselves at an interesting place on Monday mornings when we get to the office. The water cooler crew has gathered and the gossip begins. We have a choice, join in, or search for something good.

 “¹¹Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. ¹²What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good? ¹³Keep your tongue from evil and you lips from spreading deceit. ¹⁴Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” – Psalm 34:11-14 (ESV)

I wonder how many of us really think of the water cooler as a place to walk away from. It is our duty to seek good, and when conversing at the water cooler is it always good that comes from it?

The example of Christ is one of love and goodness. When we are standing around the water cooler, things may not always be aimed at love a goodness. There is the chat related to what someone is wearing. The discussion of what someone got caught doing over the weekend. And then there is the celebrations of the team victory on Saturday. Now all of these are not evil and deceitful, but 67% are not bringing the love and goodness of Christ.

The love and goodness that we feel and experience on Sundays should be extended throughout the work week with everyone we come in contact with. We should be the example of Christ at every turn.

I will say that it is not and will not be easy. And, we will likely slip up on occasion. But I will also say that we are human and nowhere near perfect. Our slip ups, and I mean those that are truly slip ups, when they happen will be forgiven when we have a repentant heart. Our heart is at the center of it all and our repentant heart allows for our imperfections.

What if we took the attitude of Christ we lived on Sunday morning and spread that at the water cooler? What if the love and goodness shown to us were something that we showed to others? What if our life with Christ was all day, every day?

We are to follow God through our lives and continue doing His work as we go. And in return:

“⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” – Psalm 23:6 (ESV)

Chapter 23 of Psalms is a prayer quoted over and over again. This verse is the last in the chapter and brings home the point that God is right with us throughout the entire journey. We are doing work for Him, and that work can be/is dangerous. We are to persevere through it and know that God is there to protect us and provide for us. Our final reward is that we get to live with Him forever.

What a great promise for us to remember. When we have finished the race, God will be there providing a place of rest in heaven. But while we are working for Him, He provides goodness and mercy for our journey.

When you think of your journey, where do you place God? Are you working for Him knowing that he is there always? Are you aware of the goodness and mercy that follows you everywhere?

“¹¹You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is a fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” – Psalm 16:11 (ESV)

Before travelling to a new place, I spend some time looking at a map to understand the direction, and path I am going to take. Sure I could let my phone or GPS tell me which way to go when I get there, but would I truly “know” the path or simply travel on it.

When relying on another entity to direct you, our attention to the journey is lost as we only focus on the destination. The first part of verse 11 above says that God makes the “path of life” known, not the destination. God gives us the path for the journey and is present on the path and in his presence we experience joy and pleasure.

In today’s world, we have technology and speed to get us somewhere (phones, GPS, automobiles, planes). Shouldn’t we take some time to enjoy the journey of life in the presence of our God?

When you think about life, are you aware of the path or focused on the destination? Are you able to enjoy the journey in the presence of God?

“⁶My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle and come to their end without hope. ⁷Remember that my life is a breath;” – Job 7:6-7 (ESV)

I forget that as long as my life is (in number of years) it is short when you think about God. The Grand Canyon was carved over millions of years, Christ was born over 2000 years ago, and the United States was born in 1776. My current 47 years of life is extremely short comparatively.

When we are looking at our lives, we should remember that they are short. When we are short on time, we focus on getting as much done as possible in that time so as not to “miss the deadline”.

And where is our focus? Well shouldn’t it be on completing the tasks set before us by God? Shouldn’t we prioritize our task list to have God’s at the top?

We are not going to be on this earth for very long (compared to the earth’s existence) and therefore we should be doing the work of God at every turn. We have an obligation to do God’s work first. Once we have completed the work of God we can get to those items that are on our list, although I suspect that some, if not all of them will fall off of the list entirely thanks to the gifts God will bestow on each of us for completing His work.

Knowing that our lives are short on this earth, are you focused on God? Are your priorities set so God’s work is done first? What if you did?

As I study this morning, I am reminded that we are always given a choice of life with God as opposed to being forced.

“¹⁹I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, ²⁰loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” – Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (ESV)

The choice is ours. Life or death. Life in Christ, or death in the world.

God certainly wants each of us to choose Him and life, however He will not force Himself upon us. If we are not willing to choose Him, then we do not receive Him.

Think of our actions as Christians. I know that I have witnessed “ministry” that seems to “force” itself on those around them. I am pretty sure that this is not the approach that God wants for us. We are to present the Gospel and allow the Holy Spirit to work. Just like we have a choice, those around us have a choice as well. We are tasked with bringing them the good news, however it us up to them to choose life or death through Christ.

When you are witnessing to others, what is your approach? Are you one that is looking to force your beliefs on others, or one that allows the Holy Spirit to work? Are you approaching life with Christ as a choice?