Objective:
The middle school youth will develop a deeper understanding of the gift of wisdom that is given to them by the Holy Spirit.
Overview:
Wisdom comes from the translation of the feminine Hebrew noun, hokma. According to the Old Testament, wisdom is God’s created, feminine companion before creation:
I, Wisdom, dwell with experience, and judicious knowledge I attain. Pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth I hate. Mine are counsel and advice; mine is strength; I am understanding. By me kings reign, and lawgivers establish justice; by me princes govern, and nobles; all the rulers of earth. “Those who love me I also love, and those who seek me find me. With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity. My fruit is better than gold, yes, than pure gold, and my revenue than choice silver. On the way of duty I walk, along the paths of justice, granting wealth to those who love me, and filling their treasuries. Lord begot me, the first born of his ways, the forerunner of his prodigies of long ago. From of old I was poured forth, at the first, before the earth (Proverbs 8:12-23).
Then in the New Testament, we learn that wisdom becomes God’s own word incarnate in Christ, so it becomes a gift of the Spirit. Through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, Christ is alive and active in all of us:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race (John 1:1-4).
The gift of wisdom is one that should be sought eagerly, however it is not easy to attain. Wisdom is a light that helps guide us through the darkness of this world. When we use wisdom we learn to make choices based on God’s perspective and the needs of other people, rather than our own wants and desires. Wisdom helps us to think and act in ways that allow us to live a life that is pleasing to the one who created us.