Wisdom #17

The Fountain of Life

Ponce de Leon once searched for the Fountain of Youth.  It was believed that this mythical fountain could provide new life to those who drank from its reservoir.  De Leon never found the fountain he was searching for, but we can look to the Bible for the source of renewed life:

Wisdom's Law Brings Life

The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death (Prov 13:14)

In the above Proverb, we see the law of the wise described as a fountain of life.  The word law hear translates as instruction.  This is to say that the instruction imparted to the wise is a fountain of life.  So what does that mean?  We can find the answer in the verses that follow (in order to reduce the amount of links, here is the link to the part of Proverbs 13 we are covering):

v. 15: Talks about having good, or correct understanding and how that benefits us in our choices
v. 16: Lets us know that prudence, or sensible, lets us deal with the knowledge of God correctly
v. 17: Details the importance of being a faithful ambassador for God
v. 18: Speaks of the honor that comes from receiving correction
v. 19: Inspires us to achieve our desires that we might feel accomplished
v. 20: Relays the importance of the company we keep
v. 21: Foretells the benefits that come from living righteously
v. 22: Challenges us to lay up blessings and opportunity for the next generation
v. 23: Calls us to be prepared for the lean times
v. 24: Instructs us to educate the next generation
v. 25: Promises sustenance for righteous living

What do all of these have to do with verse 14? 

They are all tied to wisdom.  We cannot have correct understanding if we do not let wisdom pour into our decision making.  We cannot handle the knowledge of God without good spiritual sense, and we cannot attain good sense without wisdom.  God desires us to be an ambassador for His Kingdom, but that requires going out into the world to reach for the lost.  We can't overcome the world and stay faithful to the cause without the wisdom of God.  We won't receive correction and criticism correctly if we don't have wisdom guiding us.  God wants us to achieve our desires, but we won't have the tools necessary or even the right desire if wisdom isn't leading us.  Iron sharpens iron and God wants us to seek the counsel of others that are letting Him lead them.  Righteous living has a ton of benefits, but we can't hope to receive them if we don't know how to live righteously.  Wisdom teaches us how.  We have to prepare for the next generation, and wisdom gives us the understanding of what benefits to lay up for them so they can be successful.  Times won't always be plentiful and wisdom can help us to make sure we have enough to make it through the lean seasons.  We have to ready the next generation, not just with benefits, but also with understanding.  How can we impart wisdom if we aren't already led by it?  Finally, the promise of sustenance for the righteous is a great and comforting feeling; but again, we must know how to be righteous and wisdom has that answer. 

That's a long paragraph, but it sums up how all of these items are related back to wisdom.  Without wisdom pouring into our lives like a fountain stream, we won't be able to get the best benefits from God.  These benefits effect every area of our lives.  They effect the temporal and the spiritual.  They effect us individually and how we operate with others.  They effect our relationships and our core identity.  The fountain of life that is wisdom's instruction not only gives us life, it changes our lives.  Through wisdom, we become a new creature in Christ.  It takes us from entering into relationship with Jesus to living in relationship with Him. 

Drink From The Fountain

So how do we drink from the fountain of wisdom's instruction?  We open up the Bible every day.  We pray to God every day.  We seek His instruction through His Word and prayer so that we can make the right decisions.  Most of us know this already.  However, because of the blueprint of benefits above, we now know what we can be reading about and praying about if we want to be effective in our relationship with God. 

Activation
Read through Proverbs 13:15-25
How many of those Proverbs do you feel you accomplish regularly?
List out the ones you do and the ones you struggle with in two columns.
Pray to God to lead you to do better in the struggle column.
Pray that He will continue to lead you to do better in the doing good column

Example:  If you don't have somebody who follows God and is trying to live a wise lifestyle, pray to God for direction into finding that person.  Also, read the Bible for traits in a person that is wise.

For further study, check out the video below.  In it we give you some applications for that list above to help you get started in drinking from the fountain of life. The downloadable video is on the left.  The YouTube version is on the right.