Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Verse of the Day 5

Prov 4:13

"Take hold of instruction; do not let go. Guard her, for she is your life."

Keywords:
instruction- discipline, chastening, correction
guard- preserve, keep, guard from dangers
life- being, sustenance

Summary:
Grasp discipline. Take heed to what is correct and do not stray from its path because it is your vitality. You have to keep discipline close to your heart so that you will live.

Afterthought:
I can give an analogy to explain this verse fully. Your heart is vital to your life (if it stops working, you will die), so imagine that your heart is instruction. Surrounding your heart is your rib cage, which protects your organs including the heart. It would be safe to say that you would not purposefully do any damage to your ribs because it could harm your heart and kill you. So, your rib cage is like your grasp on life. It holds together strongly so that you may live. This is exactly how you should be about [biblical] instruction. God wants you to guard the wisdom He's given you with all of your strength like that of bones to keep yourself from turmoil and spiritual death (eternal separation from God). When you let go even a little, it will slowly lead to failure- just as if you broke a rib it would lead to internal health problems. Therefore, always be on your toes. Don't slack off as a Christian; put your ALL into the lifestyle to follow discipline in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, and you will never die spiritually!