Thought for the Week – Rev. Chris Willis

Free Gift Enclosed! Too good to be true????

How often do we see the latest gizmo advertised; the promise of almost instant riches; the guarantee of a life changing opportunity? 

But what if there was something truly reliable; someone you knew you could trust; no risk of being taken for a ride? After all, someone once said, ‘there is no such thing as a free lunch’! or what about another well now saying: ‘don’t look a gift horse in the mouth’, meaning even a freebee is likely to be something it doesn’t pay well too look to closely at; after all, it’s bound to have some flaws, or else, why is it free?!

But, there is something God promises to us, with, you might say, ‘no questions asked’. It’s a promise I have often marvelled and wondered at. It’s a gift, guaranteed, promised and assured. That gift is ‘wisdom’.

You might recall the moment when King Solomon, in a dream, (1 Kings 3:5-15), is invited by God at the eve of his reign, to ask for whatever he wishes. Riches, power and influence might easily have been the answer, but no, Solomon asked for ‘wisdom’. And that wisdom was most famously demonstrated when King Solomon had to judge between two women, deciding which was the true loving mother of a new born baby (verses 16-28).

Later, the apostle James, wrote, (James 1:5), if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him’. James does stress that we must believe and not doubt when asking; but the incredibly reassuring truth is that when we ask in faith for wisdom, it will be granted to us.

Now, it’s right to say at this point, a bit like a ‘spiritual health warning’, that this does not mean that we ask for wisdom and then act on the first thought that comes into our minds, after all, Solomon, the wise king, as we sadly discover by reading on in the book of Kings, (see chapters 10 & 11 for good example) makes some of the least wise decisions, demonstrated in ignoring God’s commandments. So the gift of wisdom does need to be used wisely’. I suspect that means that we exercise and practice the gift of wisdom, a bit like an athlete trains their bodies, and keep asking for it, prayerfully, rather than seeing it as a one of guarantee that we will always get things right from the moment we ask, which of course, as we have seen in Solomon’s case, it is not. But it is immensely reassuring to know, that in our times of doubt and fear, our uncertainty and confusion, that God hasn’t gone away; he remains faithful, and his promise to guide us, to give us wisdom, not just as the wider church, but even individually, still stands firm. And as seen, it remains important to exercise that gift in obedience to his word and instructions for living as found in the Bible, or else, as with Solomon, the gift can be lost, for as the Bible also says, ‘The fear of the law is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge if the Holy One is understanding’, (Proverbs 9:10). And in this we see that spiritually gifted wisdom and honouring God, are inseparable and interdependent. Certainly, Solomon received and exercised wisdom when honouring God, and James mentions it in the context of believers persevering under suffering for being obedient. (James 1: 2-4)

So, if any of us lacks wisdom, we have a beautiful promise, a guarantee, of a ‘free gift’ of immense worth, given to us, as James says, ‘without [God] finding fault’. That is a truly beautiful and reassuring promise to us all!

My God bless us all with His wisdom. 

Prayer: Lord, as you granted the gift of wisdom to Solomon, grant me wisdom in decisions and actions. Thank you for the free and guaranteed gift, and that you do not stop to find fault in me, but freely grant this gift. Help me to use it wisely, to exercise this gift, and to do so in loving obedience to your word. Amen