To grow in wisdom and grace!

Reflecting on Luke 2

"He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him." (Luke 2:40)
"Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." (Luke 2:52)

Luke makes this observation about Jesus twice.
He was filled with wisdom, and He grew in wisdom.
Wisdom looks at the facts, understands their meaning, and lives accordingly.
It sees beyond what is, to what it means, and what we should do in response.
We all have the ability to think wisely, but it is a muscle we need to exercise.
Jesus not only had the ability, He exercised that muscle by using it.
He grew in wisdom; the more He observed and experienced, the wiser He became.

To be wise is to be be like God, and to use our God-given abilities well.
Adam and Eve had the ability to be wise.
They could observe and experience God’s world, and name what they encountered.
This naming of the animals (Genesis 1:19) was not just putting labels on things.
It involved discerning their nature, what they did, how they worked.
They also named creation: that burns, that is hard, that is photosynthesis!
As humans, we have named many things through wise discerning.
Advances in healthcare, science and technology are all wise naming.
When we use this ability well, everyone is blessed and benefits.

Luke adds that Jesus grew in grace, and in favor with God and people.
Interestingly, these are related words: charis and chariti.
God’s grace/favour was on Him, and He grew in grace/favour with God and people.
Jesus was a living embodiment of God’s grace, and God and people honoured it.
This is how we were all created to be.
To be like God in grace, and to bless God and others with that grace.
Grace is also related to love (charity); God is gracious love.
In both wisdom and grace, Jesus is God’s image-bearing child.

If you want to experience the grace and favour of God and others, be gracious.
Character is not about following a long list of rules.
Character is how we live, respond and behave with God, the world and others.
Gracious love (also known as agape) is the essence of holiness, morality.
Gracious love does not seek to deceive, control, demean, harm or burden others.
People will be blessed by, and benefit from, a loving gracious person.
This is the kind of person God and most people want to be around.

In light of this description, look at how God and most people responded to Jesus.
God repeatedly declared that Jesus was a Son with Whom He was well-pleased.
And masses of people were drawn to Jesus, and His hard teachings.
They sensed His wisdom, and they appreciated His graciousness.
It was His wisdom and grace that won over many people… but not all.
It was His wisdom and grace that irritated the unwise, ungracious.
Those with religious, political and social power were not happy with Him.
Their wisdom abilities were not aimed toward being gracious and loving, like God.
They used their wisdom abilities to manipulate and control things for themselves.
They did not see, or care about, the negative consequences for others.
Their self-serving wisdom make life hard on others.
And God and people did not respond favourably, were not well-pleased.
Their selfish wisdom rejected Jesus’ loving wisdom, and crucified Him.

How we respond to the gracious love of God in Jesus reveals our own character.
Are drawn by it, do we favour it and seek to embody it ourselves?
Do we apply our wisdom abilities to naming ways of multiplying gracious love?
Or do we prefer to use our wisdom abilities to serve ourselves, our own comfort?
Following rules (Pharisee morality) means nothing when motivated by selfish love.
Those who pursue gracious love will naturally live out what the rules point to.

“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” (Romans 13:8-10)

This is the wisdom and grace/favour that Jesus grew in.
This is the wisdom and grace/favour He helps us to grow in.
If we pursue God-like gracious love, it will be on us.
And we will grow in grace/favour with God and others as a result.
Or should I say, with most others; some may crucify us for it too.

PRAYER
Lord Jesus, I do not want to just follow rules, I want to love like You. I want to grow in grace - to love like You - and wisdom - to discern how best to love in the different situations I experience each day. May Your grace/favour be on me, that I may grow in grace/favour with God and people.