A Japanese pastor friend, with whom we worked for many years as missionaries, gave us a beautiful bronze statue of hawks lifting off in flight. He had inherited it from his father, and he gave it to us as a farewell present when we returned to the United States. Now in a place of honor in our home in America, it stands as a rare and beautiful treasure that holds a flood of memories for us.

Our proverb for today teaches that the house of our lives is best built with wisdom, which comes from God. “Through understanding it is established,” and “through knowledge” provided by the one true God “its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.”

Jesus talks about a house like that in a parable about wise and foolish builders (Matthew 7:24-27): “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

With wisdom we build our lives on the solid rock of the love of God in Christ. The commands of God give us firm flooring, the protective arms of God are like walls keeping out the cold, and the Word of God is like windows letting in God’s light.

We all struggle to build a good life. Jesus and his good news are the keys to doing so. May we have heavenly wisdom each day to build our lives and to share God’s love with others.