What Does a Believer Bring to the Table?
The Bible is full of unique and beautiful actions designed for after salvation. For instance, Proverbs chapter 13 reveals three actions that, if practiced by a believer, God describes what will be the fruit of their actions.
Proverbs 13:15-17 "Good understanding produces favor, But the way of the treacherous is hard. 16 Every prudent man acts with knowledge, But a fool displays folly. 17 A wicked messenger falls into adversity, But a faithful envoy brings healing."
These three actions are seen in these three verses.
"Good understanding produces favor" Many might jump to the idea this is talking about understanding the world or something outside of the Bible, and to a certain degree, it very much can. However, this points to Proverbs 9:10, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." What does this mean? Proper understanding, be it in the Bible or the world, only comes after we know who the Holy One is. This Holy One is Jesus Christ. The Bible is useless to the unsaved, and knowledge found in creation is genuinely not applicable or appreciatable until we know the Creator. So with understanding, we are not only in favor with the Lord because we are saved, but also gain favor from those who seek our help. We can help them reach the knowledge that we understand, causing favor.
Our second one to look at today is, "every prudent man acts with knowledge." The word prudent comes from the Hebrew word H6191 which means "cunning" or "crafty." At times, English can bring about a negative feeling to the word; however, that wouldn't be accurate to the context in this passage. Here the word prudent should be seen more as "a person being knowledgable of the situation and the facts and acts with sound judgment and tactfulness at the opportune moment." This verse means that others can trust them. The Bible is full of people who have worked in the secular world, aided leadership, and led organizations through challenging times. Look at Jospeph in Genesis and Daniel in the book of Daniel for two wonderful descriptions.
The final action is verse 17, "but a faithful ambassador brings health." This verse has a dual meaning. First, all believers are called to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with anyone. Thus, as ambassadors of Jesus, we bring health to those who need it. 2 Corinthians 5:20-20 "Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." The second meaning is an accumulation of the other two actions being fulfilled. If we understand and act with prudence, then we will bring healing to those who require our aid. Believers should aid recipients. This does not mean the recipient will accept, agree, or like the aid; but people sometimes do not like hearing the truth, even for their own benefit. God recognizes this unfortunate action that a recipient might take, and that is why we are never promised to always have rewards on earth, but our Heavenly reward is sure.
I hope this helps you understand that the Bible has application throughout the entire book and that God wants to guide you in the present life and be a part of your life even after salvation. This sanctification process is time-consuming and wrought with work, but rewarding and filled with joy.
Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,
JL