Wisdom - Joy and Light
"The life of the godly is full of light and joy,
but the light of the wicked will be snuffed out."Proverbs 13:9 NLT
[This is the 13th message in this series]
In this series we are highlighting two-liner verses from the Book of Proverbs.
Godly
In the previous lesson from this series, we touched on joy. We shall segue right through and talk about light and joy.
So the first line of this couplet talks to us about the light of the godly (in other translations it says light of the righteous).
No one is really godly per se. There is one (Creator) God. Those who know God can be deemed godly to God (or righteous in His eyes), only when He sees the reflection of His Son when He looks at them.
God's Son who clothed Himself in humanity and lived as one of us is the Righteous One (the righteous human). The Son is godly as He is God Himself (God the Word who became flesh, the second person of the Holy Trinity). When believers put their trust on the Righteous One, they become righteous (made right in the eyes of Our Heavenly Father). Nothing we do, ever did or will do can make us righteous.
Light
Jesus said:
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
To those who followed Him, Jesus said:
"You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."
[Christians are mini-Christs]
Followers of Jesus do good deeds, but this is not what makes them godly (or righteous). Instead, they are able to do good deeds because they are made righteous by putting their faith in Christ.
The good deeds that they do is not to make them famous (or godly) or to have the spotlight on them. The good things they do is only to bring glory and to shine the light on Our Father in heaven. [Just like Christ did]
God's light comes with God's joy. We have both (joy and light) when we have Christ in our life.
Wicked
In the second line of this couplet it tells us about the wicked.
In the previous lesson, we have mentioned people who plan evil gives birth to deceit, if not ill intent or malice in the things that they plan and do.
Those kind of people we can call wicked. And as we have discussed, they live among us and look like everyone else. We cannot tell them by their outward appearance. But like fruit trees, we can tell what kind of tree they are by their fruit.
Wicked people do not have fruit. If they do have, they are bad fruit.
The good deeds that they do is not to make them famous (or godly) or to have the spotlight on them. The good things they do is only to bring glory and to shine the light on Our Father in heaven. [Just like Christ did]
God's light comes with God's joy. We have both (joy and light) when we have Christ in our life.
Wicked
In the second line of this couplet it tells us about the wicked.
In the previous lesson, we have mentioned people who plan evil gives birth to deceit, if not ill intent or malice in the things that they plan and do.
Those kind of people we can call wicked. And as we have discussed, they live among us and look like everyone else. We cannot tell them by their outward appearance. But like fruit trees, we can tell what kind of tree they are by their fruit.
Wicked people do not have fruit. If they do have, they are bad fruit.
Lamp
In the Amplified Version it says:
In the Amplified Version it says:
"But the lamp of the wicked [is a temporary light and] goes out."
They do have light. But not the Light of Christ. They have a lamp. And the light from this lamp is almost always directed and focused on them or on what they do. This kind of light is fleeting, it fades and will go out. It is performance based -- self-serving.
The Light of the World is eternal and everlasting. It is not selfish or calls attention to itself nor have a personal agenda.
God's Light is full of joy, peace, love, warmth and all the (good) fruits of the Spirit of God. Where there is the fruit of the Spirit, the Spirit is also there.
Where there is no fruit or bad fruit, there is wickedness and a spirit other than God's.
The Light of the World is eternal and everlasting. It is not selfish or calls attention to itself nor have a personal agenda.
God's Light is full of joy, peace, love, warmth and all the (good) fruits of the Spirit of God. Where there is the fruit of the Spirit, the Spirit is also there.
Where there is no fruit or bad fruit, there is wickedness and a spirit other than God's.
[The ability to determine what kind of spirit (discernment) is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit of God (distinguishing between spirits).]
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