James 3:13-18
James’ description of wisdom sounds a lot to me like the apostle Paul’s description of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Perhaps that is because both are direct evidence of God’s transforming work within us. We cannot will ourselves to produce the fruit of the Spirit. The same is true of acquiring wisdom that comes from heaven.
As James suggests, what precedes wisdom is honesty with ourselves and God about the true condition of our hearts. How can God grant us what is His when we are consumed with what is ours? Asking God to know our hearts is a liberating prayer, because if we truly mean it, we are asking God to show us what within us needs to be confessed and surrendered to Him. This confession and surrender is precisely how we open our hearts to be emptied of all that is not of God, to then be filled with all that is, including the pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere wisdom from heaven.
Author: Edie MacPherson
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