Encouragement Page
1 May 2005

If God were to ask us the same question as He did King Solomon, what will we answer? What will you want God to give you? I believe many will ask for power, wealth, fame, knowledge, etc. Very few perhaps would want to fill in the blank with mere wisdom. "Oh, why waste it? Should have asked for more practical things like wealth and health, power and long life; what a waste!" But Solomon is one rare man who asked for wisdom. To him there was nothing more important than acquiring wisdom to rule the country in peace and prosperity. He did not ask for more wealth. He did not ask for more power though he was the king of Israel.

Now that we have received the light of salvation just as Solomon did, we are no longer slaves to the system of this world. We are free, we are made alive forevermore in Christ. So if there is anything we need to live for Jesus in our lives today, it is wisdom. Wisdom to live for God; wisdom to bear a good testimony for Him; wisdom to handle every situation of life; wisdom to make good decisions; wisdom to discern what is right and wrong, and to stand firmly upon God’s truth.

How old was Solomon when he asked for wisdom? Was he an old man who had all the experiences of life that would qualify him to really know what he was asking, something that is really needful and MUST HAVE in life? No, he was but a little child. Such a young child who already has such wisdom to ask wisdom from God! Amazing! Surely this wisdom was given to him from young as he grew up in the grace and knowledge of Jehovah God. That is what happened to young Timothy of the New Testament. The Apostle Paul said, "When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also" (2 Timothy 1:5).

What is the one thing that is vital to make one wise? It is the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. Timothy’s mother Eunice and grandmother Lois must have personally taught Timothy from his suckling days to know the Holy Scriptures. What a privilege for Timothy to be born in a Christian family! Can we say that for our children? Are our children growing up in the grace and knowledge of our Risen Saviour, Jesus Christ? Are we teaching our own children the way of the Lord so that they may not depart from it as they grow older? I am sure every parent would desire that their own child will grow up to be a successful person in society, not one who will spend his life behind bars or a good-for-nothing who will waste his life idling, and bring nothing but grief and pain to the family. It may be true that we cannot control what our children will eventually become in the future, whether good or bad. But we can do something now as we raise them up. We can do our part by teaching them, educating them, and nurturing them in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. So that from a very young age, they will know the Holy Scriptures which are able to make them wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. We ought to be fully convinced that we have an important role to play toward our children for many have neglected this heavy responsibility, to their own pain and regret.

But how can we teach our children well if we ourselves have not learnt well first? Have we known the Holy Scriptures ourselves that will make us wise unto salvation? The Scriptures tell us that "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed" (James 1:5-6). When we have spent much time in the Word, our faith will not waver and our increasing knowledge will grow into wisdom by the grace of God. Are you growing in wisdom? May God help us! Amen.

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