Proverbs 19:17
Being kind to the poor is like lending to the Lord; He will reward you for what you have done.
Proverbs 19:18
Correct your children while there is still hope; do not let them destroy themselves.
This hearkens back to the power of “why” for me. Why do you correct your children? Is it to get them to shut up? Behave right in public so as to stop embarrassing me? To stop annoying me? Or is it to train them to be good people? To be godly? To love them and care for them? Always thinking long-term in the present moment?
Having the right heart in correcting your children makes a world of difference in the people they may become.
Proverbs 19:20
Listen to advice and accept correction, and in the end you will be wise.
Proverbs 19:17
He most revealed Himself thru this man Jesus, the image of the invisible God. It’s easy to forget this. To forget how much Jesus of Nazareth revealed to us and how much He liberates our tiny thinking.
Trying to comprehend this, I imagine what it might be like if the wind was to become a person. If you could see wind, it would look like this. If wind were to become human, here is the person wind would be. This person reveals the essence of wind.
Believing in Jesus, our eyes are opened to the reality of all things, their true nature. We see life and people in their true essence. We see thru the lens of agape–placing high value on people who are normally rejected, seeing thru the surface issues of illness, weakness, and failure to the jewel at the core of each person.
We believe in order to understand. We don’t try to understand in order to believe. Believe me. Believing enlightens. Jesus enlightens.
Without faith it is impossible to see spiritually.
Faith in Jesus is demanded because through Him God is known.