Increased Capacity for Wisdom

Tonight, for Family Scripture Study, we read the last several verses of Luke 2, the parts that don't usually make it into the Christmas Story, including verses 40 and 52.

And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. - Luke 2:40

And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. - Luke 2:52

As I reread these verses, planning to blog about how Jesus increased in Wisdom until He became perfectly wise (and we can, too, no matter how unwise we are at the moment), an even more blogworthy thought occurred to me. In verse 40, Jesus was "filled with wisdom," and in verse 52, He "increased in wisdom." Taken literally, this means that Jesus was filled with wisdom, at 100% capacity, and then somehow got more.

Theoretically, this isn't possible. One cannot reach above 100% capacity at anything. If one did, that only proves that one hadn't actually been at 100% capacity before. Yet, reaching above 100% capacity is quite easy, if (and only if) one's capacity can increase.

Imagine filling a glass with water. When the glass is completely filled, no more water can be poured into the glass. It would merely spill out. Yet, if the glass grew taller or wider, its capacity could increase, and thus it could hold more water, even more than its previous 100%.

It is possible to "increase in wisdom," even after one has been "filled" with it. Cambridge defines wisdom as "the ability to make good judgments based on what you have learned from your experience, or the knowledge and understanding that gives you this ability." It's possible to make the best possible judgments you can, based on what you have learned from your experience, and to thus have reached the maximum capacity for wisdom. Yet, it is also possible to gain more experience, to learn more, to increase in knowledge and understanding, and thus to "increase in wisdom," even after one has been "filled."

In fact, far beyond merely being possible, increasing in wisdom should happen all the time, even if one had previously reached one's peak. We, as living beings, are gaining experience all the time. We can hardly do otherwise. And as the old adage goes, "you learn something new every day." We are constantly gaining experience and knowledge that we should use to increase our wisdom. As we grow smarter and more experienced, we should grow wiser, too.

We should follow the Savior's example in continually increasing in wisdom, especially as our capacity for wisdom is continually increasing as well.