The word wise appears 344 times. The words wiser and wisest appear 9 and 2 times, respectively. The word wisdom appears 367 times.
The word wise made me think of this question, what is the difference between wise and smart? 

So, we need to do a little digging. 

Solomon in the book of Kings asked God for wisdom to be a good king. I am curious why didn’t he ask God to make him smarter? 

Being wise is making the best choice inherently. Based on experience, background, and knowledge. Being smart is applying general intellectual resources to “think through” a problem and based on findings arrive at the correct answer. They seem to be similar but yet carry inherent differences. I do believe you can be both simultaneously. But you can also be them singularly. 

So, now let’s travel back in time and peek into the pages of the Bible.   We all have heard the story about three wise men. They traveled from afar because they heard a story and witnessed a beautiful star.

 'After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 

Matthew 2:9-10 

How many of us would have trusted this story? How many of us would have packed up and made such an amazing trip… Would we have said, we are too busy? Would we have been prepared? Would we have the tools to navigate to our destination? Would we have put it off until we felt if we could travel at a more convenient time? We can see this beautiful soul anytime? Maybe tomorrow?

Why do we let opportunities slip through our fingers? Are we smart or wise? Are we both? or are we neither?

Many wise men before us have traveled this road of life before us. They have left us many clues… Why do many of us think we are so smart and we can do life on our own? It may be a lack of experience? Maybe it's a lack of knowledge? Where are we in our walk? Are we seeking a better way of life? Are we searching for our King? Are we allowing God to guide us home? Are we looking for eternal hope? And for a love that we have difficultly understanding?

Have we ever asked ourselves why only three wise men, why not more? Well, we did I find that there is some controversy about when and how many Shepard boys and how many wise men were involved in this magical moment? There are some that claim, that there are also some inconsistencies in when the wise men actually arrived at their destination. 

I will not try to prove or disprove either story. I can only say that I consider whoever showed up to be wise enough to be blessed to share what they witnessed and who this tiny miracle truly is. 

The wise are few. They inherently are set apart. It is based on their experience, background, and knowledge make the best choice. Even if it is inconvenient. They are humble and secure in their decisions. 

So, the question becomes how do we become wiser?

We prepare ourselves, we study and invest the time. So, when the opportunity arrives to travel home to witness this amazing soul... We will be excited to see His face with our own spiritual eyes… We will be ready…We will have the tools.  Have we gathered our spiritual gifts to give Him..?? 

I can not speak for others, I can only chase Him each day in hopes that I can grow in knowledge. I need to continue to work on listening to God's whispers. I can pray that as I learn, that I “think through” life on earth and what our Savoir offers. And that I can be wise enough to seek Him, Love Him, and be ready for the journey no matter far and how long it might take.

It truly is Him… It’s always Him 

Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matthew 7:14

“A wise man will hear, and will increase learning, and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:” Proverbs 1:5 KJV

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:1