Tree Hugger

I am smack in the middle of Proverbs in my Bible reading plan this week and came upon this delightful little Scripture passage, tucked into the 3rd chapter, starting with verse 13...

Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.  She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace.She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed.

If you know me or have followed my blog, you know that I am a bit obsessed with the symbolism of trees in the Scriptures and use it to pray for my children.  And this passage in Proverbs gave me such joy as I read about how wisdom is depicted as a "tree of life"--let's read verse 18 again, now in the New Living Translation:

"Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her;happy are those who hold her tightly."

I think of a "tree hugger" when I read this verse, but not in the environmental sense!  And I love how my littlest one was pictured hugging a mighty oak this summer (shown above)!  I love how God uses symbolism in nature to teach us His truths from His Word.

So let us ALL aspire to be tree huggers, dear friend!  Let us embrace God's wisdom in all His glory.  Wait--that wasn't a typo--we are not to embrace wisdom in all "its" glory.  Don't be confused or misunderstand--we as Christians do not go after mere principles.  No!  In fact, even wisdom has a personification in Christ. 

Look closely at the 8th chapter of Proverbs.  We see in verse 4 that wisdom begins to speak and is quoted all throughout the chapter, stating amazing things such as these (quote starts at verse 22)...

“The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth, before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world. When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep,when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command,when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him, like a master workman,and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world  and delighting in the children of man"

And we know that CHRIST was with God at the foundation of the world (the plural form of God, Elohim, was used in Genesis when Creation was formed, and when God said "Let US make man in OUR image" (see Gen 1:26, emphasis mine).  And we know that CHRIST is God's delight and that through Him God delights in us!

"but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God...." (1 Corinthians 1:24)

So, no...we do not embrace wisdom in principle, but we hold firm to the wisdom that is CHRIST!
So let us embrace and hold onto CHRIST and HIS WISDOM as we aspire to be a tree hugger in the Biblical sense today!

Let us humbly and faithfully approach God and His Word, eager to confess our sin and receive His instruction...for we know that the fear of God is the beginning of all wisdom (Prov 1:7)