Wisdom is right in front of us. Everywhere we go and in every situation we find ourselves, she calls out for us to see her, standing in plain sight on a crowded street corner, behind a cart at the grocery store, waiting in line at Starbucks. She cries out for us to take notice, to hear her message, not in the brash, loud voice of the temptress, but in the quiet, confident tone of a knowing mother. She waits patiently for us to seek her out, to willingly stop and listen, to still ourselves in the midst of controversy and mayhem, to focus on her steady voice, ringing clear and true, like temple bells tolling for the faithful. If we hope to heed her sage advice, and to keep her company, then we must recognize her in our daily lives, and in order to do that, we have to know what she looks like.

It’s interesting to me how the simple act of seeking can point us in directions that we never imagined existed. Like Paul’s model of what constitutes Love in 1 Corinthians 13, the first half of Proverbs 8 offers a model by which we can identify wisdom. Wisdom is discrete and prudent, not arrogant or prideful, knows the fear of the Lord, and speaks to truth and understanding. It’s a portrayal that is not altogether dissimilar to Paul’s description of love, and as Christ promises us in Matthew 7:7 that if we “ask, it will be given; if we seek, we will find; if we knock, the door will be opened,” likewise, we are assured that if we seek wisdom diligently, we will find it.

~SLM