Today’s Scripture: Proverbs 21:21, NLT- “Whoever pursues righteousness and unfailing love will find life, righteousness, and honor.”
We must be careful as to what we allow our hearts, minds, souls, and strengths to pursue. Proverbs is the book of Wisdom. I was reminded this morning that I have gotten away from reading daily the Wisdom of God. With thirty-one chapters we can read one per day to keep heading in the direction of God’s righteousness.
Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology gives an Old Testament (Hebrew) and New Testament (Greek) perspective of righteousness. The first is the “appropriate behavior of the covenant partners (Yahweh and Israel) toward each other.” There is appropriate behavior between us and God.
Secondly, in the time of Jesus, the Greek perspective was “conformity to a known standard or law.” God does have a known standard and law for us, the Bible. We witness lawlessness every day. Just take a drive. We innately know what is appropriate and lawful. However, it is too easy to follow our selfishness at the risk of all others.
We have a choice every moment as to what we pursue. A diligent plan to read Proverbs and Scripture continues to direct us to the righteousness of God. Just think what today’s world would look like if we only sought after righteousness and love. We are witnessing a world that is pursuing power, self-serving, and evil ways.
Proverbs 21:1 gives us our first step. We should put our hearts in the hand of God and let Him guide our hearts wherever He wishes. When our hearts are aligned with God and in a covenant relationship we flow to where we are to be to fully alive. When we place our hearts into the wrong hands of human understanding, many times our own, we end up in some very dark and troubling places.
God has provided us with His standards and laws, but we are a rebellious people. We most often follow our instincts and desires which many times is contrary to God’s law and inappropriate to our relationship with Him. I am thankful this is about pursuit and not perfection. His Word does not say that we must be Godly or righteous or have unfailing love but calls us to pursue it. All of us fall short without Him.
God’s promise is if we pursue and chase after a relationship with Him and His ways, the results will be that we will find life, righteousness, and honor. Life to the full. Real life, not the shallow life the world has to offer but a rich life full of God and love. The more we pursue His character the more we take it on and the more we have His character the more honor we will find. Honor is not the goal but a result of pursuing who God is.
How will you pursue righteousness and unfailing love in your world today? We can begin by placing our hearts in the hand of God and let Him turn us wherever He wishes.
Today’s Prayer: Lord God, Yahweh-Elohim, I am placing my heart firmly into Your hand now. Take me wherever You wish. Thank You for drawing us to Your covenants and laws. I am asking for Your Holy Spirit to fill my heart and mind with your righteousness and love. Help us to live today and every day pursuing Your righteousness and love so we can bring the world to You and Your ways. In You LORD, we live the full life of Your making. In Your righteousness and love this world will be saved. Our safety and our deliverance rests in relationship with You. Help us to turn to You always. Amen.
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