A Word from the Word
The Path of the Righteous
Proverbs 4:18
The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. NIV
Righteousness in the Bible is a path. A path is something that we walk on, something we move along. It suggests motion, change, development. Some people would like righteousness to be some kind of static condition. “Well, I’m saved! Here I am; I’m righteous. All I need to do now is sit in church and sing hymns until the Lord calls me home.” That’s a mistake. Any static condition in which you do not change, progress and develop is not the righteousness of the Bible.
The righteousness of the Bible is a path. And we enter into that path through an encounter with the Son of Righteousness, the Lord Jesus Christ. And when He shines into our lives, that’s like the first gleam of dawn. It’s the beginning of light. And then, as we move on in that path, the words are beautiful: “The light shines ever brighter till the full light of day.”
If you are walking in the path of righteousness, today’s light is brighter than yesterday’s and tomorrow will be brighter than today’s. So do not settle down and say, “I’ve arrived,” because that’s a mistake, that’s a deception. The path of righteousness leads us always on until we come into the full light of the noonday sun and to the full and final revelation of God in eternity.
So if you are on that path, keep moving on, and if you haven’t yet found the path, you need to meet the Son of Righteousness, the Lord Jesus Christ.