December 14th, 2023
by Michelle Burford, Literacy Project Director
by Michelle Burford, Literacy Project Director
Scripture
"My child, eat honey, for it is good.
The honeycomb is sweet in your mouth.
Know that wisdom is like that for your whole being.
If you find it, there is a future.
Your hope won’t be cut off." - Proverbs 24: 13-14
Reflection
We live in the information age where “facts” are one click away 24/7. The church can often be just one more place where getting it RIGHT –the right words, the right understanding, the right people– reigns supreme at the cost of whatever and whoever gets in the way. But the Bible demonstrates time and again that God is less interested in our knowledge than in our wisdom. My favorite way to think about the difference is with the help of a quote (attributed to a variety of people over the years), “Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is not putting one in your fruit salad.” Knowledge is about information, wisdom is about context and, often, relationship. Knowledge is black and white, wisdom relies on all the varied subtle shades in between.
That spectrum of understanding the world and the people in it is exactly where I am finding hope in my everyday life right now. It is sweet like honey to know that God calls me to come to the table, every table from the one in my dining room to the one at the office, with the lens of wisdom that allows me to consider far more than meets the eye in any given moment. That’s where grace lives, in a place of deep understanding and acceptance. I often tell my kids (and remind myself), “You can be right, or you can be in relationship.” May we choose relationship whenever possible.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for offering us opportunities to grow in wisdom every single day. Open our eyes to new ways of understanding that prompt us to extend love and grace evermore lavishly to those around us and to ourselves. When we long for easy answers and binary ways of seeing the world, remind us that you offer something much sweeter in all of the richness and complexity of your creation. In Jesus name, amen.
"My child, eat honey, for it is good.
The honeycomb is sweet in your mouth.
Know that wisdom is like that for your whole being.
If you find it, there is a future.
Your hope won’t be cut off." - Proverbs 24: 13-14
Reflection
We live in the information age where “facts” are one click away 24/7. The church can often be just one more place where getting it RIGHT –the right words, the right understanding, the right people– reigns supreme at the cost of whatever and whoever gets in the way. But the Bible demonstrates time and again that God is less interested in our knowledge than in our wisdom. My favorite way to think about the difference is with the help of a quote (attributed to a variety of people over the years), “Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is not putting one in your fruit salad.” Knowledge is about information, wisdom is about context and, often, relationship. Knowledge is black and white, wisdom relies on all the varied subtle shades in between.
That spectrum of understanding the world and the people in it is exactly where I am finding hope in my everyday life right now. It is sweet like honey to know that God calls me to come to the table, every table from the one in my dining room to the one at the office, with the lens of wisdom that allows me to consider far more than meets the eye in any given moment. That’s where grace lives, in a place of deep understanding and acceptance. I often tell my kids (and remind myself), “You can be right, or you can be in relationship.” May we choose relationship whenever possible.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for offering us opportunities to grow in wisdom every single day. Open our eyes to new ways of understanding that prompt us to extend love and grace evermore lavishly to those around us and to ourselves. When we long for easy answers and binary ways of seeing the world, remind us that you offer something much sweeter in all of the richness and complexity of your creation. In Jesus name, amen.
Posted in Advent Devotional
Recent
Getting Ready for Christmas Discussion Guide - Week 4
December 22nd, 2024
Christmas Eve is Almost Here // M-Note 12.21.2024
December 20th, 2024
Getting Ready for Christmas Discussion Guide - Week 3
December 15th, 2024
Christmas Eve is Coming Early // M-Note 12.14.2024
December 13th, 2024
Getting Ready for Christmas Discussion Guide - Week 2
December 8th, 2024
Archive
2024
January
Clean Slate: Week 1 Discussion GuideStarting & Sustaining Change // M-Note 1.6.24Clean Slate: Week 2 Discussion GuideStarting Small, Dreaming Big // M-Note 1.13.24Clean Slate: Week 3 Discussion GuideTogether Towards Change...and Healthy Habits // M-Note 1.20.24Clean Slate: Week 4 Discussion GuideSlowing Down for God to Show Up // M-Note 1.27.24
February
More Isn't Always Better // M-Note 2.3.24Money Talks: Week 1 Discussion GuideAshes for Valentine's Day? // M-Note 2.10.24Money Talks: Week 2 Discussion GuideLenten Devotional 2024Money Talks: Week 3 Discussion GuideWhat's your legacy? // M-Note 2.17.24Strength in Numbers: Community in Ministry // M-Note 2.24.24Entourage Discussion Guide - Week One
March
Entourage Discussion Guide - Week TwoUpdates from Clayton and Easter Invitation // M-Note 3.2.24Twenty Students Confirmed Last Sunday // M-Note 3.9.24Entourage Discussion Guide - Week 3How serving at Easter can really make a difference // M-Note 3.16.24Entourage Discussion Guide - Week 4Can You Know Joy Without Pain? // M-Note 3.23.24Entourage Discussion Guide - Week 5It's time for EasterSTL at The Factory // M-Note 3.28.24
April
Easter Discussion GuideScreen Time: Troubleshooting our Relationship with Technology // M-Note 4.6.24Screen Time Discussion Guide - Week 1Springtime Reminders: Joy Comes with the Morning // M-Note 4.13.24Screen Time Discussion Guide - Week 2Shaping the Future at the UMC General Conference // M-Note 4.20.24Screen Time Discussion Guide - Week 3 General Conference Halftime Report// M-Note 4.27.24Screen Time Discussion Guide - Week 4
May
Very Good News at the End of General Conference//M-Note 5.4.24Uncomfortable Truths Discussion Guide - Week 1Uncomfortable Truths Discussion Guide - Week 2Announcing The Gathering’s Church Planters Lab//M-Note 5.11.24My (Hypothetical) Commencement Address // M-Note 5.18.24Uncomfortable Truths Discussion Guide - Week 3Uncomfortable Truths Discussion Guide - Week 4
June
July
September
Worth Sharing Discussion Guide - Week 1Transitioning...to 47 // M-Note 9.7.24Worth Sharing Discussion Guide - Week 2Invitations Work in Mysterious Ways // M-Note 9.14.24Students Stepping Up: Getting Involved in Ministry // M-Note 9.21.24Worth Sharing Discussion Guide - Week 3A Stressful Season // M-Note 9.28.24Worth Sharing Discussion Guide - Week 4
October
It Doesn't Have to Be This Way // M-Note 10.5.24Hold These Truths Discussion Guide - Week 1Love Thy Political Neighbor // M-Note 10.11.2024Hold These Truths Discussion Guide - Week 2Fear is a Powerful Motivator // M-Note 10.19.24Hold These Truths Discussion Guide - Week 3Why Do Bad Things Happen? // M-Note 10.26.24Why? Discussion Guide - Week 1
November
December
Getting Ready for Christmas Discussion Guide - Week 1Christmas Invitations // M-Note 12.7.24Getting Ready for Christmas Discussion Guide - Week 2Christmas Eve is Coming Early // M-Note 12.14.2024Getting Ready for Christmas Discussion Guide - Week 3Christmas Eve is Almost Here // M-Note 12.21.2024Getting Ready for Christmas Discussion Guide - Week 4
2023
January
Categories
Tags
1 Kings 3
1 Kings
1 Timothy
2 Corinthians 9:5-7
2 Timothy
Belden Lane
Beyond Simple
Celebrate
Change
Christ
Commit
Confidence
Denee Bowers
Devotional
Discussion Guides
Distractions
Divine Love
Doubt
Easter
Ephesians
Equity
Evangelism
Explore
Five Shared Practices
Focus
Frederick Buechner
Fresh Take
Friends
Generosity
God
Gratitude
Hebrews
Holy Ambiguity
Holy Spirit
Hope
Humanity
Identity
Inside Voice
Isaiah
Jesus
John 21
John
Joy
Kids
King Solomon
Lectio Divina
Lent
Life
Limitations
Longing
M-Note
Matt Miofsky
Matthew
Nadia Bolz-Weber
No Filter
Open
Parables
Parenting
Patience
Paula D'Arcy
Paula D\'Arcy
Paula D\\\'Arcy
Paula D\\\\\\\'Arcy
Paul
Privilege
Proverbs 1
Proverbs
Psalms
Purpose
Questions
Redeem
Rejoice
Righteousness
Sabra Engelbrecht
Second Chance
Self-Love
Struggle
Success
The Bible
The Church
The Gathering
Timothy
Uncertainty
Untethered
Vision
Weird
acts
adulting
advice
challenge
commitment
creation
deconstruction
deconstruct
faith
finances
fitness
forgiveness
forgiving
foundation
freedom
give
growth
kelley weber
love
meister eckhart
money
mystery
new life
opportunity
reconstruction
reconstruct
redemption
relationships
responsibility
simplify
sin
social
thomas merton
transition
truth
willingness
willpower
will
young adult
No Comments