Tag Archives: know

Be the rescue

 

Rescue the perishing

 

There is something special about the person who rescues someone who seems to be drawing closer to losing who they are in Christ. It would seem that today I am being challenged to deliver them who are dying and to hold them back from going down that slippery slope.

Rescue those who are being taken away to death;
hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it,
and will he not repay man according to his work? – Proverbs 24:11-12  ESV

I may want to take the easy way out and think this is just about those who have suffered a miscarriage of justice and it is my duty to deliver them. That kind of leaves a pious or well-informed moral obligation on the table.  Since we are in Proverbs, I would like to think that Wisdom has no pleasure in the death of anyone, innocent or not. In the Septuagint, verse eleven reads like this…

 “Deliver those that are being led away to death, and redeem ( ἐκπρίου) those that are appointed to be slain; spare not (to help them)” 

If I help only those I know and ignore others, those are not good principles to follow. Why would I choose to be a selfish person? God knows my heart and He knows the truth – He knows that whatever excuse I use holds no water.  I am faced once again with the law of love which is limited by no circumstances.  Back to the Septuagint for verse twelve…

“But if thou say, I know not this man, know that the Lord knoweth the hearts of air; and he who formed ( πλάσας) breath for all, himself knoweth all things, who rendereth to every man according to his works.”

Lord, I trust You – let me help the one You want me to rescue.

 

 

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To know

 

Jesus Culture – I Want To Know You

 

“To know” means more about experiential knowledge, not just cognitive knowledge. It is all about the intellectual assimilation and practical use of what is acquired.

To know wisdom and instruction,
    to understand words of insight. – Proverbs 1:2  ESV

“To know” includes mental awareness of who God is and the consequential submission to His lordship. To know Him is to obey Him. I am being called to a life of trust and obedience in which every disciple of Jesus see Him in every event and rely on Him. When I acknowledge (know) the Lord in every event means I will trust and obey Him for guidance in right conduct.

When it comes to “instruction” I have seen different translations use “correction” and “discipline.” Being wise requires a discipleship type relationship that involves someone warning, rebuking and telling me when to turn around. I have not met anyone who does not like the idea of being wise, but it would seem the path to that also includes rebuke and I have seen many not able to handle that well – including me. If I am going to be wise, I must humbly recognize that I am not always there and need to submit to wise counsel. Ultimately, I must submit to the Lord Himself if I want to be wise.

I like Proverbs style of delivery. With commands, whether positive admonitions or negative prohibitions, they are supported with reasons. Reasons move the teacher away from the stance of an authoritative expert to that to a persuader. Sometimes it is as simple as challenging the learner to think through the issue but at the end to be ready to face the realisation that there is a need to obey the command because it is a wise thing to do. So the teacher becomes more of the spiritual director and their role becomes one of countering the natural aimlessness of the learner.

“Left to themselves, beginners flounder from one extreme to the other. The experienced sage can establish lines by which the disciple can develop the self-control necessary for the good ends in view.” – J. Eaton

With all of this, it is safe to assume that a wise person has never really attained, but in fact understands they have “not attained” and are in fact pressing on.  I suppose I grow the most by hearing.  Hearing establishing a personal relationship with the speaker but also provides the example of how I should teach, for I believe all hearers become teachers. If I teach before I hear, I will soon be bankrupt. The longer I learn, the more I feel like a learner and the more ready I am to hear and thereby know more.

 

 

 

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