Solomon writes “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.” The crucial part of serving God is not the lack of sin, but rather the attitude towards it and the way we act after it has happened. Solomon had set out “to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness that is madness”, and discovered that “God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes”. Solomon had tried to gain wisdom through his own intellect, but discovered only the vanity of life. “I said, I will be wise, but it was far from me”.
In Acts 5-6, Jesus’ disciples were sharing true wisdom, without care for their own safety. Despite being “strictly charged… not to teach in this name”, Peter and the apostles answered “We must obey God rather than men”. They risked their lives to spread the gospel message that God had exalted Jesus, “to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins”. They even rejoiced“that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name… they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.”
Such passion and zeal is an encouraging example to us in a world filled with apathy. The 12 disciples resolved to “devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word”. Let’s follow their example, and make God’s word the most important thing in our lives.