What Do I Boast In?

In Jeremiah 9:23-24, it dismantles some popular thinking about where to find our value. "The LORD says: Let not the wise man bask in his wisdom, nor the mighty man in his might,nor the rich man in his riches. Let them boast in this alone. That they truly know me, and understand that I am the LORD of justice and of righteousness whose love is steadfast; and that I love to be this way." Just sit in a group of people telling stories and you will quickly observe that everyone wants to boast about something. Even though I talk a lot in a group setting, I am by far the quietest one in my school lunch group. I eat lunch with a group of people that love to tell stories about their lives and try to "better" every one's story. I love these folks but they definitely can top my story any day.
What is interesting is what we all tend to boast in. I am thinking that God carefully chose his examples. This passage specifically mentioned wisdom, might and riches. The world highly values wisdom, might and riches! The world does not value the thoughts of a child(not wise enough), a weak person or a poor person. These categories of people need to depend on others. They are considered needy. They need someone to take care of them. Get the picture? I think I understand why God is pleading with the rich, wise or mighty people to not consider that something to find their value in. Those are the very things that cause them to not depend on Him.
So what does God want me to boast in? "That they truly know me." I have mentioned this so many times in my blog but it bears repeating. You can never truly know God without spending hours in His word. There is no substitute. You do not truly know God through hearsay or listening to a pastor or listening to your parents talk about God. If you are not disciplining yourself to spend time in the word, you are vulnerable to Satan's attacks. You will not know when he is lying to you.You will not know how mighty to save that our God is. God says boast or find value that "you truly know him."
Jeremiah also states that we need to "understand that I am the LORD of justice and righteousness." Sit on that fact for a minute. The world thinks erroneously that God will send everyone to heaven. In the newspaper a few days ago, I read an article concerning evangelical Christians, The author was pleased to report that many Christians now believe that they are not the only ones going to heaven.Trusting Jesus as Lord and Saviour is no longer the way,the truth and the light, according to the writer.
But God is not that way. God brings judgement on sin with an iron fist. When you read the Bible from cover to cover,your perception of God as non-judgemental will be shattered. Society preaches to our kids to be accepting of all sin and all beliefs. God is not like that at all. He brings judgement! However, remember he is the all-knowing judge who judges with fairness. He loves righteousness. We must know this about God. He does not ignore sin. He loves when I do the right thing and make right decisions.
The best is last..."his love is steadfast and he loves to be that way!" I cannot think of a thing to add. That is something to boast in...that God loves to be loving towards me.