I am currently reading the biography of Amy Carmichael, A Chance to Die.  So far, I am inspired and humbled by my look into Miss Carmichael’s life.  According to the world’s standards, her life is unremarkable—poor, unknown, difficult and mundane.  But according to heavenly standards, hers is a life of riches, meaning, wisdom and love.  One of the main reasons that I read the biographies of followers of Christ is to gain a bit of wisdom from their lives.  I need wisdom for living.

This morning I read Proverbs 8 from the Message translation of the Bible.   It is all about wisdom.  In the chapter, “wisdom” is personified as a “lady” that was made by God (Proverbs 8:22) who can be seen, heard, dwelt with, heeded, recognized and found.

“When you find me, you find life, real life.” (Proverbs 8:35, MSG)

As I write this, I am living, and if you are reading this, you are alive too.  But, in the midst of life, have we found “real life?”  Lady Wisdom says that real life is found in her.  Where is she to be found?  Is wisdom only found in the halls of education, in the quiet of the monastery, and within the walls of the church?  Lady Wisdom says that, “those who look for me find me.”  Where?

“Do you hear Lady Wisdom calling? Can you hear Madame Insight raising her voice?  She's taken her stand at First and Main, at the busiest intersection.  Right in the city square where the traffic is thickest, she shouts, "You—I'm talking to all of you, everyone out here on the streets!” (Proverbs 8:1-4, MSG)

Wisdom is found smack dab in the middle of life.  It is not reserved for only a few, but rather it is available to all.  Wisdom for living finds its source in God and the scripture says that wisdom is calling out to each one of us in the very midst of our daily lives.  In other words—God is calling us to live in Him.

Every day, along the mundane streets and in the midst of the snarled traffic of our lives (our biographies), God is there, calling out to us—offering us mercy, grace, hope, wisdom and … “life, real life.” 

Are you listening?