Sayings/Proverbs

This Page is written in the context of the date for the years preceding series of these daily paragraphs dealing with the context of life for the Christian in self-formation – personally and socially.  This is achieved through various themes, but done best in understanding and using informal personal procedures that assist the individual, and invariably spill over into the relational (social) context of life that begins with family members.  The three Pages for this date leading to this one relate to sayings, proverbs or thoughts that tend to form us.  If taken seriously they offer a kind of motivation in the life of the self that this is the way, and I will walk in it.  Although elusive, or adopted in assumptive usage, the benefits of the blessed life tend to accrue to those who give attention to the concepts. Scripture uses the process. Following are a few of them.  The values are similar between secular and Christian life, with adjustments for faith factors.  The good life on earth is the same for humanists and Christians, with variant interpretations and contexts.

AFFIRMATION – This means that God has an eternal ‘yes’ in all we want to do – if morally guided.
BEAUTY – This is in the eye of the beholder, but meaningful for good in its congruity with idealism.
EDUCATION – This is necessary to the achievement of wisdom through thought and understanding.
FAITH – This is the major human short-cut to God, not dependent upon knowledge but relationship.
FAMILY – This is one of the major analogies related to the development of human life by God.
HABIT – This is the practice of accepting repetitive conduct/context so to gain life purpose efficiently.
HUMOR – This relates to the good will of persons vital to non-judgmental attitudes and equanimity.
HYPOCRISY – This is related to falsehood, demonstrated in lies of conduct, consequent to deceive.
LANGUAGE – This is the best form of symbolism to express human thought/belief to fact and meaning.
LIFE – This is a mystery related to the creation of God that is reflective of his person – found in mankind.
LOVE – This is a factor related to the nature of God and major to effective/excellent human relationships.
MODEL – This is vital to the living expression of orientation related to values revealing holistic life.
MODERATION – This offers the best procedure for long life – in everything we do – natural or spiritual.
ORDER – This means planning life for some methodology, like commitment to peace in all matters.
PRAYER – This is seen in secularists as meditation: for Christian it is found in devotional exercise.
PROPHETIC – This is to project the creation and its parts to the future in some way to God’s eternity.
REDEMPTION – This is justification from God in qualifying a people to share in his Kingdom.
RIGHTEOUSNESS – This is human spiritual maturity reflected from the holiness (morality) of God.
SELF – This relates to image of God in all persons – so to love reflected from God that offers peace.
TEMPERANCE – This is vital to the effective affirmation of God for human life, the factor of balance.
TIME – This is a factor of nature that is necessary in understanding differences with God and eternity.
QUESTION – This is a major tool to be interpreted both by the question and the spirit in which it is asked.
WARFARE – This is a spiritual factor to be fought with spiritual weapons – for both self and society.
ZEAL – This is related to degree of commitment for persons related to any form of human life, good or ill.

It is for the purpose of practical understanding, an appeal for consideration that the Graduate Pages are meant to address the themes, in somewhat truncated fashion.  Perhaps by so obvious a pattern we may become more confident of our beliefs and practices.  The Graduate Year will sometimes make reference to the four years of Undergraduate Years so to homogenize the Christian in understanding holistic Christian life.  That life attempts to gain the best of human and spiritual context for individual life and work toward gaining that objective is social life, both casual and official in society.  It appears in small groups and in the mass population of nations.  The purpose is not political.  It seeks for the best for the majority, and what is best for all persons and nations in what God summarizes as righteousness (right).  We have no promise the high objective will be wholly achieved, but we are called to seek for it, and the Lord will aid the effort.