Life’s Greatest Secrets
Life’s greatest secrets come from the Bible; here is an example: “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. 19The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble. 20My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. 21Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. 22For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. 23Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:18-23).
According to King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, these words to his son under inspiration are “Life’s Greatest Secrets” to those who find them. If you are wondering what about those who don’t find them, it is stated in verse 19: “The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.” Isn’t that the case with billions of people on Earth? Does it also include you? I hope not, but you can change your direction today if it does.
Doesn’t Life and health sound like something that would interest everyone? Well, it sure does when considering the alternative, sickness and death. The Bible contains Life’s secrets to those who find them. That means some do find them, and some don’t. So, the point is that it is up to each person to search and find, and the Bible is the only place these words of health and life can be found. With the widespread illiteracy of Scripture, it is no wonder that few ever discover life’s greatest secrets: According to the Bible, only a few will discover them: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate, broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).
We may want to put things off with the hopes that everything will be all right and God will take care of everything without our involvement, but according to the Bible, that is not how it works. There are things we must do to cooperate with God to meet our responsibility toward Him. With that in mind, let us take a look at some of those things God expects us to do if we are to find “Life’s Greatest Secrets.”
We learn from Proverbs 4:20 that we are to incline an ear or listen carefully to God’s Words. Listening to God shows our honor and respect for Him, but how can we listen if we don’t study the Word? Studying God’s Word is the clear instruction of Scripture: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). We can’t find life’s greatest secrets if we don’t study God’s Word and then pay attention and take action on what God is telling us.
Another thing Solomon tells us under inspiration is not to let God’s Word depart from our eyes. Though the Living Bible is not to be considered a translation, it does clarify what it says in verse 21, “Keep these thoughts ever in mind; let them penetrate deep within your heart.” God’s Word reveals the truth, but we must also listen and respond to what it says.
Finally, King Solomon says, keep the words in the midst of your heart. In other words, we are to keep those things that we have heard from God’s Word close to our hearts once we find them, and not only that, but we are also to respond to His Word to receive life and health He promises. The most crucial point is often overlooked: God expects us to cooperate with Him and yet many are unwilling. God instructs us in His Word to do certain things. The message of the Bible is to study the Word of God, and when you do, you will discover a recurring theme. We are told to “keep the Word before our eyes, bind it upon our hearts, not to let it depart from our mouths.” The key point is that before we can ever find life and health, those precious secrets of life, we must first let the Word of God have first place in our lives, which is the thing that is greatly missing in Christianity. It is extremely important that we learn the things God expects us to do and not let anything hinder us from doing them if we are to experience His promises.
Luke outlines and explains God’s promise to us in the parable of the Sower: “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that `Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. 11Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. 14And the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience” (Luke 8:10-15). In the parable, God promises life’s greatest secrets to those who hear the word with a noble heart and then keep that which they have heard by bearing fruit with patience unto the Lord. So important was this truth that it is recorded in three of the gospels. It is not recorded as a secret but a mystery with a similar meaning.
There is a close parallel between what Jesus taught through the parable and our text Proverbs 4:20, in which Solomon speaks to his son. The emphasis is the same, and that is our responsibility to hear and then keep what we hear. God’s word is true and never fails, but we sometimes fail to hear and do what we are instructed. In the parable Jesus used, a Sower sows the seed, which Jesus says is the Word, but seventy-five percent of those who heard and received the Word bore no fruit. Only twenty-five percent bore fruit; of them, only a third or eight percent bore a hundredfold. The seed or the Word is always good, and when planted in a noble heart, it always bears fruit, or in other words, does God’s will. Sadly, the point is that not everyone who hears the word will respond in a positive way.
Conclusion
If we are to enjoy “Life’s Greatest Secrets” promised to each of us, we must be willing to receive God’s word and then act upon it. We need not be discouraged if we do not bear one hundred percent at the beginning. Just start and bring forth fruit as you learn and grow in spirit. The most important thing anyone does is first place their faith in Jesus for salvation and His promise of eternal life. God promised in the most familiar verse in the Bible to give anyone who believes in Jesus, His only begotten Son, eternal life: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). If you have listened today and believe what you have heard, the Bible has a wonderful promise for you: “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?” (Romans 10:10-14). The question to you is, have you heard, and do you believe? Do you need more information? Would you like a guide based on the Bible on how to know God? If so, CLICK HERE.