Gospel Reflections #415: God uses different avenues to guide us

Proverbs 1:8 “Listen, my son, to your father's admonition. Do not neglect your mother's instruction."

For me, who did not have a good parent-child relationship, this verse sounds a bit repulsive because it says, "Obey your parents" or "Do not rebel against your parents," but this verse is preceded by the words, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; a fool despises wisdom and instruction.

I think this means something like, "You can know the Lord from respecting Him instead of relying on yourself," and "Pride will not allow you to receive the wisdom and lessons you need.

God uses our parents, family, friends, and various people related to us to make it easier for us to receive His messages.

If you hold on to bad feelings toward your parents, as I do, they will drown out your parents' love and advice as senior people in your life.

God tells us that we need "admonition" and "instruction" and not to take it lightly.

We don't want to hear anything that grates on our ears, but it may be that only in such will we find anything that will bump up against our "thick wall of ego.

The problem here is not with our fathers or mothers, but with the pride in our hearts that we can do things without being told what to do.

God's love shows us His ability for us to be able to listen and open our hearts to instructions

Whether we are looking at ourselves or at God changes the goal we will reach.

But don't worry. God is working to correct our path and will never give up, so we just have to accept His work when we realize it.

No matter how many times we fail, God will guide us and complete it.

AUTHOR'S BIO: This Gospel Reflections page is written by Masae San, who resides in Hiroshima, Japan. Masae is a dedicated student of the Bible with a deep passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She shares her daily reflections on Gospel perspectives to reach out to others and spread the message of God's true love through a Christ-centered approach. We are sharing her insights here so that you, too, can experience the joy that comes from knowing and understanding the true Gospel and the love of God through Jesus Christ.