“My son, if your heart is wise, my heart too will be glad. My inmost being will exult when your lips speak what is right” (Proverbs 23:15–16 ESV).
The wisdom teacher had just instructed his son concerning the necessity of loving discipline. Now he revealed the goal of that discipline. He did not merely want outward obedience. He longed to see wisdom take root in his son’s heart.
The father could not see directly into his son’s heart, but he could eventually hear what was there through his words. Jesus later said, “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt. 12:34). When the son’s lips began speaking what was right, the father rejoiced that wisdom had reached the heart.
His joy was intense. The expression translated “my inmost being will exult” literally referred to the kidneys, which Hebrew thought associated with the deepest inner emotions. In other words, the father rejoiced with everything within him.
This also points us toward the perfect Son. What every godly father longs to see imperfectly in his children, the heavenly Father saw perfectly in Jesus. His heart was perfectly wise, His words were always true, and His life always pleased the Father. At His baptism the Father declared, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17).
We can easily rejoice when our children succeed academically, professionally, financially, or socially. But our deepest joy should be seeing Christ formed in them. Let us pray not merely for good behavior, but for wise hearts that overflow with righteous words.
And because all of us have fallen short of pleasing God, let us rejoice that the perfectly pleasing Son went to the cross on our behalf. In Christ, we are accepted in the Beloved, and the Father rejoices as His Spirit forms in us the wise heart and righteous life of His Son.
PRAYER: Dear Father, give us wise hearts that overflow in words that honor You. Help us as parents and grandparents to desire above all that Christ be formed in our children. Thank You for Your beloved Son, who perfectly pleased You and gave Himself for us. Make us more like Him. In Jesus’ name, amen.