Let Wisdom Serve the City

The first thing I noticed on the Portland State campus when I visited was this:

 

In bold caps was the university's motto: "LET KNOWLEDGE SERVE THE CITY."

I remember talking with Jesus as we walked under it, thinking that the phrase was reflective of the hopelessness on campus, as if knowledge was the highest thing one could obtain. I knew right then that I was supposed to go to this place.

However, I hadn't really thought much of  that phrase until this past Monday night, when I had a chance to go back to the campus ministry I interned with this past year and be a part of their summer Bible study. Ken, my campus minister, shared about wisdom and the fear of the LORD.

He focused in on Proverbs 1: 7: " The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom." Some people buck a bit at that verse. "Fear the LORD?" they say. "We shouldn't fear the LORD! God is loving and kind. He is forgiving. He wants us to experience joy and peace." Others say, "Yeah! That's what we need to do! This generation doesn't fear the LORD enough! They are all going to experience God's wrath!"

Both extreme attitudes are not what the scriptures are pointing us to. The no-fear, freedom model puts us in a position that disregards the need for the gospel, takes for granted the sacrifice of separation from the Father that Jesus made for us on the cross, and makes it easy to sin for we disregard it's weight by saying, "God will forgive me."  The all-fear model puts us in a position that disregards the beauty of the gospel, sends people running from the Father, and makes us judgmental, legalistic, and full of bitterness and anger. 

Think with me for a minute. 

The first word to ponder is FREEDOM. Make a mental list of some characteristics of God that give us freedom, that make it easier to trust in Him and be in relationship with Him.

Got your list? Well, here's some of mine (maybe you have others; please comment and share them!)...

I know I can have FREEDOM because God is:
Loving, gracious, merciful, kind, patient, peaceful, gentle, forgiving...

Now, another word for you--FEAR. Make another mental list of some characteristics of God that should lead us to fear Him. 

Here's my list:
I know I must FEAR because God is: 

holy, just, sovereign, perfect, righteous, my Maker, Sustainer of all life...

The Hebrew word for "fear" means to stand in awe of the Exalted. It doesn't mean to shake in dread and flee in terror. If we have that proper understanding of the word, we can understand how having the "fear of the LORD" doesn't separate us from a loving relationship of freedom in Christ Jesus. Rather, it gives us a proper perspective on Who the Father is as the perfect balance of Awe-Inspiring Exalted King and our Heavenly Daddy.

What does this have to do with Portland State, you ask?

Well, it is my great desire that students at Portland State come to know Jesus Christ and walk in a right relationship with Him. I Cor. 1: 30 says,

 "And because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption."

If the fear of the LORD--the attitude of reverence for the LORD we obtain as we rightly know His character--is the beginning of wisdom and the Wisdom of God is Jesus Christ and "Him crucified" (I Cor. 1:23), then our foundational principle as a campus ministry (and as believers in general) must be to teach the character of God.

And so I begin, as any writer would, to create a Bible study to use in the fall. Please pray for me as I brainstorm, write, edit, and prepare. My goal is to create a Bible study that would grab the attention of unchurched nonbelievers who have little to no knowledge of the scriptures, much less wisdom from believing the God of the scriptures. I want to answer the question, "Who is God?" and tell the attributes of God through story, incorporating both O.T. and N.T. stories in a narrative that teaches God's character, ultimately culminating with God's character of being "righteousness, sanctification, and redemption" (I Cor. 1:30). I've never written a Bible study for non-believers before. I know it is going to be quite the challenge for this Bible-belt, raised-with-Christian-jargon-from-the-womb, Southern girl to set aside all of that and try to imagine what is like to not understand who Abraham is or what the word "sanctification" means. I know I'm going to have to watch every word and tone I use; I don't want to talk over their heads or down to them. I need prayers for a lot of balance! It will be a challenge, but I know that I need this tool (and the practice) for the fall and so I begin!

And so I need your help! What is your favorite attribute of our God? And why? How does that attribute point toward the cross? Please comment and share, even if your favorite attribute is the same as someone else's! You never know how your comment might help jump-start my thoughts and set me off on a journey to tell some precious students about Jesus!

By the way, I got one more major thing out of Ken's Bible study the other day. I had been praying about a motto for our campus ministry. Now I have it!

"Let Wisdom Serve the City." 

"...We seek to impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away.  But we impart a secret and hidden Wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages ... As it is written, 'No eye has seen, nor has ear heard,  nor has the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him!"  (I Cor. 2: 6-7,9)

Yes, and Amen.