The book of Proverbs makes a strong case that the life we all should want is the life shaped by wisdom. What does that life look like? In a simple word, that life looks a lot like Jesus. If you knew Proverbs well and heard Jesus preach the Sermon on the Mount, it would be profound and deep but not totally new or out of left field. The foundation was already in place from before Creation, before the beginning of time. True wisdom comes from God and leads us back to God. Fear of the Lord is central to this, knowing who we’re dealing with and the great power that deserves reverent respect. I love fire, chainsaws, and heavy equipment, and each one demands a cautious respect; don’t be careless with them! How much more with the Lord? Yet there’s also joy and delight. We have a painting at church by Roger Grandia that was gifted years ago. It is Jesus at a table working with pottery. The captivating part of the painting for me is the expression of joy that Jesus has in the shaping of the clay. Christ is Divine Wisdom Incarnate, and here is Wisdom shaping his creation. Of course it doesn’t take much interpretation to know that what he’s working on is representative of you, of me, of all of us. One at a time, precious and cherished is the pottery to the Potter. And it gives Jesus a joyful laugh to see us shaped into his vision of what we are meant to be. Think about all of the Proverbs we’ve read in these 31 chapters as part of Christ’s shaping of us. We hold onto the caution of Proverbs 16:2, that “a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord.” When we might be tempted to minimize or self-deceive, to talk ourselves into things being okay, we look to the Potter to shape us by his wisdom. I’ve heard critiques of Proverbs before that they’re just about work ethic and getting rich. I think those critics haven’t actually read Proverbs, or at least not closely. Proverbs 21:5 says, “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty,” and that, “the rich rule over the poor and the borrower is slave to the lender (Proverbs 22:7). Yet the joy and delight in Jesus’s face, the gospel, Proverbs, and the 10 Commandments also bring us back to things like sabbath rest. “Do not wear yourself out to get rich, do not trust your own cleverness” (Proverbs 23:4) What is wealth for then, the fruit of diligent labor? “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done” (Proverbs 19:7). Sounds a little bit like, “Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me”… doesn’t it? And God will not be mocked. If the beauty of generosity is choked out by ugly greed, Wisdom shows a big picture of how that will go: “Whoever increases wealth by taking interest or profit from the poor amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor” (Proverbs 28:8). Ultimately we are shaped by wisdom to be more like Jesus, more like the vision we saw at Creation for how the Creator meant for us to be and live. And through Christ we will return through redemption. After all, “Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the Lord evil is avoided” (Proverbs 16:6 and 3:3). Christ is the epitome of love and faithfulness, through which we find our sins atoned for. A life shaped by wisdom, truly beautiful and a delight to the Lord! - Pastor Steven