The theme for this week in the church calendar is our minds; the scripture passages traditionally associated with this week all speak of using our minds in a way that glorifies God and opens our minds and hearts to his wisdom. 1 Kings 3 tells us how Solomon gained his noted wisdom; notice that his wisdom begins with humility; it comes first by asking God and it involves both heart and mind. James 1:5 promises God’s wisdom to us if we seek it in the same way. 1 Kings 4:29-34 shows that what Solomon gained embraces the whole of life, including understanding nature. Proverbs 1 is the introduction to the collection of Israel’s wisdom; the chapter again shows the significance of humility in becoming wise; verse 7 in particular shows that the root of wisdom of is found in the awe of God and bears fruit as we take what God reveals seriously. Notice that both in the chapter and in Proverbs 8 wisdom is personified; the New Testament goes beyond personification to incarnation, to Christ both the power and wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24).
Strikingly, in Matthew 11, Christ himself tells us that if we fail to humble ourselves before God, we will never become wise. Rather, we will be blind to the most essential truths of life. Paul warns us of the same danger and tells about the same source of true wisdom in 1 Corinthians 2. May God’s Spirit humble us before God so we can learn his “true truth,” that is the only source of lasting life.