The Light of the World, Part 4
Proverbs 4v6-9
19th December 2025
We've been thinking about Jesus, the Light of the World, who came to earth as "the Word", God's perfect Message (John 1v1) to reveal Himself to us, to bring us knowledge, and to make us wise - wise unto salvation. Do you want to become wise? Do you want to gain understanding? Godly wisdom is not just theory; it will change your life. Solomon offers us this advice:
Proverbs 4v6-9
Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will
watch over you.
The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you
have, get understanding.
Cherish her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honour
you.
She will give you a garland to grace your head and present you with a
glorious crown.
As we saw earlier in this series, Jesus said:
John 8v12
I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in
darkness, but will have the light of life."
Jesus is the ultimate bringer of wisdom. He didn't only bring wisdom; He is wisdom. He is "Emmanuel", God with us (Isaiah 7v14, Matthew 1v23). Jesus came so that we could know the truth - the real truth - about God, about man, about ethics, about ourselves, about the forgiveness of sins, and about the future.
There are two paths to understanding and wisdom you can try. We can choose to believe what the world teaches us, or we can choose to believe what God tells us. A lot of very clever worldly people have come up with some extremely stupid ideas. Both Bertrand Russell and George Orwell are supposed to have said something like this, "There are some ideas so absurd that only an intellectual could believe them." Worldly intellectuals have always been fools. As Paul wrote to the church in Corinth:
1 Corinthians 1v20
Where is the wise person? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher
of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
Just think about some of the ridiculous ideas circulating in our country right now. The government, the BBC, the universities, don’t have the answers. But God does. I really want to know the truth - the real truth. God is the only completely reliable source of truth because only God is omniscient - perfectly knowledgeable - and only God is perfectly honest. We can trust every word He says.
2 Timothy 3v16-17
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness,
so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good
work.
No-one will ever completely plumb the depths of understanding of the wisdom of God. Mo-one will fully grasp Hi, righteousness, love, mercy, majesty and power, but every day we can learn more.
This growth in wisdom that God offers us isn’t just for the more intellectually-minded among us. James tells us:
James 1v5
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives
generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given
to you.
The Lord God made this wonderful promise to Jeremiah and, I believe, to us all:
Jeremiah 33v2-3
"This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth, the Lord who
formed it and established it - the Lord is his name:
'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable
things you do not know.'"
Let us pursue real wisdom – godly wisdom. God desires to help us in this life-long endeavour. Jesus promises that "He who seeks will find" (Matthew 7v8).
I wish you a merry Christmas! I pray you will find Jesus Christ, God in human form, and stand in awe at the Incarnation of the Son of God, And I pray that you will grow wise as you contemplate Him. God bless us, every one!