In John 6:5 to 14 we find Jesus feeding a crowd of five thousand with five loaves and two fishes. What a great miracle! It is therefore no surprise when the crowd crosses the Sea of Galilee (Tiberias) and looks for Jesus in Capernaum, the next day. On seeing the crowd Jesus tells them, “you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill". Now wait, what is he trying to dissect – thousands indeed had their fill and they had indeed seen this miracle with their own eyes. He seems to be implying that following because they saw a miracle was right but following because they were filled is not right.
A close examination of this outburst reveals a certain disappointment in Jesus. He had hoped that they will see the feeding of thousands with little food, as a miraculous sign pointing to the presence of God among them. A statement by Jesus to a different audience underpins this expectation: "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders, you will never believe." (John 4: 48). Such believing will lead them towards seeking more of God himself who can fulfill their hearts’ deepest longings. But here they were, not realizing any truth but just hanging around hoping to get free food.
In Acts 8:9-19 we see a similar response from Simon when he saw people being anointed miraculously by the Holy Spirit. Simon had practiced sorcery for some time in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He had boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, had given him their attention. But when he heard Philip preach the good news of the kingdom of God, he himself believed and was baptized, and followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw. Later when Simon saw that the Spirit was given when Peter and John placed their hands on the people, he offered them money and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." (Acts 8:19). He too had missed the point. Instead of seeing God himself at work and holding on to him, here he was trying to maintain or better his livelihood -- he had only changed the source for his power; it was devil and sorcery earlier and he now thought it could be God.
Jesus after pointing out that they were following him so they could continue to get food, implores them “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you”. (John 6:27) Does this ring a bell? The bible says that "if for only this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men". (I Cor 15;19)
God often uses miracles that address one’s physical and material needs – success in studies, progression in career, healing, etc., - to reveal himself and to grab one’s attention so one will hold on to him unto eternal life. He says in Hosea 2:14, “I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her”. His expectation is that she will no longer call him ‘my master’ but move to a closer relationship where she calls him ‘my husband’. (Hos 2:16). In Deu 8:3 we find Moses explaining to the Israelites, “God humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord”. When people cling on to the blessings rather than clinging to the one who blesses, he is disappointed.
Jesus fed thousands in a miraculous way to let people see that He himself is the bread from heaven that can satisfy one’s deepest hunger -- to know God intimately and to understand God's purpose for one in this life. Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35) The bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." (John 6:33)
The Word of God as bread . . .
How do we live on the bread from heaven -- the word that comes from the mouth of God? Jesus said, "I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me". (Mat 4:4) "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work". (John 4:34) . This Jesus has now given us his word (John 17:14) and has sent us into the world just as he himself was sent by the Father (John 17:18). If we keep his word and do his will, we will feed on the bread from heaven.
The Living Word as Bread . . .
John recorded at the start of his Gospel, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the word was God. . . The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us". It is therefore not surprising that Jesus said "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day . . . Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him". (John 6:53-56) How do we quench the thirst and satisfy the hunger that only heaven can meet, with the word that was the express image of the invisible God? By accepting the sacrifice he made on the cross -- believing that he gave his body to be torn and shed his last drop of blood, that our sins may be forgiven and we may have eternal life. He also promises to live inside us and take us to heaven. Each time we partake in his last supper, we are reminded of his sacrifice to make us partakers of his heavenly glory and his indwelling presence to transform us from glory to glory.
Let us take our eyes from food that satisfies our physical and material needs of this life - success, prosperity, health - and set our eyes on the food from heaven that will lead us to eternal life. The word of God is the food from heaven that has come out from the mouth of God, and we feed on the heavenly manna by keeping his commandments while living on this earth. Jesus himself is the word that is the ultimate expression and revelation of who God is, who has given himself for us as the bread of life. Let us take this bread . . . have Jesus himself in us, that we may share in his glory.
Share . . .
Monday, September 22, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Short-cuts lead us nowhere
We often look down on Jacob (whose name means 'deceiver') and look up to men like Abraham, Joseph and Daniel, all along assuming in our sub-conscious mind that we are somewhere in between Jacob and the other greater men in the Bible. We do not realize that if we can readily identify with someone in the Bible, it is Jacob.
Jacob was a man of short-cuts. He wanted to quickly grow up in life, without the attendant effort and hard-work. My 6-year son who fondly watches stories on Kids' channels, and is greatly amused by the magical powers of the whiz-kids that star in them, once remarked that he would love to have those powers as he can get great grades without having to study !! Grown-ups too are often like that -- only not so naive but very sophisticated and subtle.
Let us focus on Jacob for a while. Two of his infamous short-cuts readily come to our mind. His elder brother Esau by way of birthright probably was poised to inherit twice as much property (sheep, cattle, men-servants & maid-servants) from his father as Jacob himself will. Certainly, over time Jacob can get wealthier than Esau -- it could only require patience, hard-work and perseverance. Jacob figured an easy way out. He took advantage of his brother's despairing moment. When Esau once returned from the open country, without success in hunting and famished, and desired to have the stew that his brother was cooking, Jacob demanded that he sells his birthright and got it for the bread and lentil stew that he let him have (Gen 25:29-34).
Do we not do the same? We try to inherit the result of someone else's hardwork. At the workplace, when something good comes out of collective work, or worse still, out of the efforts of all the rest in the team, have we not tried to be the first to announce it to the Company and together with it be the beneficiary of all the accolades and rewards. If we have, we have been a Jacob. In Lev.19;11,13, we are commanded "Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another. Do not defraud your neighbour or rob him".
There are those who may not stake claim of others' deeds, but decry and belittle anything that others did. Such people use different yardsticks for themselves and for others. When they do something, it is heculean; when others do the same, it is just extra-mile. When they commit a blunder, it is just a mole-hill; while others commit the same, it is himalayan. The Bible warns us of using different yardsticks: "Do not have two differing weights in your bag -- one heavy, one light. Do not have two differing measures in your house -- one large, one small" (Deu. 25:13,14).
Jacob attempted short-cuts not just with men but even with God. Having deceitfully got the birthright, he did not hesitate to have heaven's blessings too - that his father would pronounce on his favourite son Esau - through deceit. Teaming up with his mother, he set out to decieve his father who was going blind with age. He put on his brother's clothes that carried scent of the open country he goes hunting into, covered his hands and neck with goatskin to impersonate his hairy brother, took the meat that his mother cooked from the choice young goats in his father's flock, and decieved his father that it was Esau who has come back with his wild game as his father had wished (Gen 27:6-29).
Is this not very common with us? We think we can decieve God with our praises, our offerings and tithes. We think that it does not matter who we are internally, as long as we present ourselves in the right way to God. We are often the Jacob deep within, presenting ourselves as Esau who deserves the heavenly father's blessings. We do not forgive others but presume ourselves to be broken-hearted pleading for God's mercies. One who attempts to deceive God is in effect deceiving himself. The Bible clearly admonishes us, "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (I Sam 16:7).
Jacob had to learn his lesson the hard way. He had to run away from his home, to an uncle at Paddan Aram he has never seen, for fear that his wronged brother would kill him. The man who thought he had won wealth and God's blessings is reduced to a desperate state. He pleads with God at Luz (which he renamed Bethel) on his way to Paddan Aram, "if you will be with me and watch over me on this journey and give me food to eat and clothes to wear, and bring me safely to my fathers house . . . (Gen 28:20)"
Jacob ultimately realized that one's smartness (read it as conniving) does not bring prosperity. The twenty years of hardship and toil tending his uncle Laban's flocks ( 14 years for having Rachel's hand in marriage and another 6 years for flocks as wages during which time he got his wages changed unfavouably ten times) taught him the lesson of his life: "If God had not been with me, I would have been sent away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands (Gen 31:42)".
We all need not have to learn this lesson the hard way - by commiting the mistake in our lives and receiving correction at God's hands. We can rather learn it from Jacob's life. Let us trust God for our growth and lean not on deceit. In due time, he will lift us up.
Jacob was a man of short-cuts. He wanted to quickly grow up in life, without the attendant effort and hard-work. My 6-year son who fondly watches stories on Kids' channels, and is greatly amused by the magical powers of the whiz-kids that star in them, once remarked that he would love to have those powers as he can get great grades without having to study !! Grown-ups too are often like that -- only not so naive but very sophisticated and subtle.
Let us focus on Jacob for a while. Two of his infamous short-cuts readily come to our mind. His elder brother Esau by way of birthright probably was poised to inherit twice as much property (sheep, cattle, men-servants & maid-servants) from his father as Jacob himself will. Certainly, over time Jacob can get wealthier than Esau -- it could only require patience, hard-work and perseverance. Jacob figured an easy way out. He took advantage of his brother's despairing moment. When Esau once returned from the open country, without success in hunting and famished, and desired to have the stew that his brother was cooking, Jacob demanded that he sells his birthright and got it for the bread and lentil stew that he let him have (Gen 25:29-34).
Do we not do the same? We try to inherit the result of someone else's hardwork. At the workplace, when something good comes out of collective work, or worse still, out of the efforts of all the rest in the team, have we not tried to be the first to announce it to the Company and together with it be the beneficiary of all the accolades and rewards. If we have, we have been a Jacob. In Lev.19;11,13, we are commanded "Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another. Do not defraud your neighbour or rob him".
There are those who may not stake claim of others' deeds, but decry and belittle anything that others did. Such people use different yardsticks for themselves and for others. When they do something, it is heculean; when others do the same, it is just extra-mile. When they commit a blunder, it is just a mole-hill; while others commit the same, it is himalayan. The Bible warns us of using different yardsticks: "Do not have two differing weights in your bag -- one heavy, one light. Do not have two differing measures in your house -- one large, one small" (Deu. 25:13,14).
Jacob attempted short-cuts not just with men but even with God. Having deceitfully got the birthright, he did not hesitate to have heaven's blessings too - that his father would pronounce on his favourite son Esau - through deceit. Teaming up with his mother, he set out to decieve his father who was going blind with age. He put on his brother's clothes that carried scent of the open country he goes hunting into, covered his hands and neck with goatskin to impersonate his hairy brother, took the meat that his mother cooked from the choice young goats in his father's flock, and decieved his father that it was Esau who has come back with his wild game as his father had wished (Gen 27:6-29).
Is this not very common with us? We think we can decieve God with our praises, our offerings and tithes. We think that it does not matter who we are internally, as long as we present ourselves in the right way to God. We are often the Jacob deep within, presenting ourselves as Esau who deserves the heavenly father's blessings. We do not forgive others but presume ourselves to be broken-hearted pleading for God's mercies. One who attempts to deceive God is in effect deceiving himself. The Bible clearly admonishes us, "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (I Sam 16:7).
Jacob had to learn his lesson the hard way. He had to run away from his home, to an uncle at Paddan Aram he has never seen, for fear that his wronged brother would kill him. The man who thought he had won wealth and God's blessings is reduced to a desperate state. He pleads with God at Luz (which he renamed Bethel) on his way to Paddan Aram, "if you will be with me and watch over me on this journey and give me food to eat and clothes to wear, and bring me safely to my fathers house . . . (Gen 28:20)"
Jacob ultimately realized that one's smartness (read it as conniving) does not bring prosperity. The twenty years of hardship and toil tending his uncle Laban's flocks ( 14 years for having Rachel's hand in marriage and another 6 years for flocks as wages during which time he got his wages changed unfavouably ten times) taught him the lesson of his life: "If God had not been with me, I would have been sent away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands (Gen 31:42)".
We all need not have to learn this lesson the hard way - by commiting the mistake in our lives and receiving correction at God's hands. We can rather learn it from Jacob's life. Let us trust God for our growth and lean not on deceit. In due time, he will lift us up.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Balm to soothe our Pain
No one can escape pain in his lifetime. It therefore helps to understand how God views our pain and where he figures in our world of sorrow and pain. The Bible makes it amply clear that our creator God feels our pain, helps us bear the pain, redeems our pain and ultimately removes our pain.
The King on the Judgment throne tells the righteous on his right, "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me". When they fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, invited a stranger, clothed a naked, cared for a sick and visited a prisoner, they had done it all to Jesus. Every time a hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, stranger or prisoner was comforted, Jesus himself had been comforted. He also tells those on his left, "whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me". So whenever a hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, stranger or prisoner continued in his predicament without comfort, Jesus himself had been denied comfort. (Mat 25:34-45). How comforting to know that our God feels our pain -- whether it is that of hunger, thirst, loneliness, sickness or shame.
God reveals through prophet Isaiah, "In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old". (Isa 63:9) Irrespective of how the pain was caused - by devil's specific targetting as with Job, by accident when a nature's law is violated, or by rebellion against God as with the Israelites - our Lord does not leave us alone. He has promised in Isa 43:2, "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze". How heartening to know that our Lord helps us in our pain - he will be right beside us in our hour of grief to carry us through.
He is a god who brings out streams in the desert. He is our eternal Provider who bestows on us a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair (Isa 61:3). The greatest example of how he redeems pain can be seen in Jesus. When Jesus hung on the cross, he was considered stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted. He was in effect taking away our infirmities and carrying away our sorrows. We were brought peace from the punishment that was upon him. We were brought healing from his wounds. How encouraging to note that our Saviour redeems our pain - what our foes (including the devil) intend for harm, he intends for good.
The whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time (Rom 8:22). Sin has caused God's beautiful creation to stray from the trajectory that the creator had launched it on. The creator's finger is on the button like that of the Authority watching a Rocket's launch to determine if it is on erratic line of flight and needs to be commanded to self-destruct. A day is coming, when all the stars of the heavens will be dissolved and the sky rolled up like a scroll (Isa 34:4). He will then wipe every tear from all eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. How glorious when our Healer will remove our pain - he has already provided the way through the cross.
Therefore in times of pain, let us persevere. Peter tells us that "when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised (Heb 10:36)".
The King on the Judgment throne tells the righteous on his right, "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me". When they fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, invited a stranger, clothed a naked, cared for a sick and visited a prisoner, they had done it all to Jesus. Every time a hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, stranger or prisoner was comforted, Jesus himself had been comforted. He also tells those on his left, "whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me". So whenever a hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, stranger or prisoner continued in his predicament without comfort, Jesus himself had been denied comfort. (Mat 25:34-45). How comforting to know that our God feels our pain -- whether it is that of hunger, thirst, loneliness, sickness or shame.
God reveals through prophet Isaiah, "In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old". (Isa 63:9) Irrespective of how the pain was caused - by devil's specific targetting as with Job, by accident when a nature's law is violated, or by rebellion against God as with the Israelites - our Lord does not leave us alone. He has promised in Isa 43:2, "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze". How heartening to know that our Lord helps us in our pain - he will be right beside us in our hour of grief to carry us through.
He is a god who brings out streams in the desert. He is our eternal Provider who bestows on us a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair (Isa 61:3). The greatest example of how he redeems pain can be seen in Jesus. When Jesus hung on the cross, he was considered stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted. He was in effect taking away our infirmities and carrying away our sorrows. We were brought peace from the punishment that was upon him. We were brought healing from his wounds. How encouraging to note that our Saviour redeems our pain - what our foes (including the devil) intend for harm, he intends for good.
The whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time (Rom 8:22). Sin has caused God's beautiful creation to stray from the trajectory that the creator had launched it on. The creator's finger is on the button like that of the Authority watching a Rocket's launch to determine if it is on erratic line of flight and needs to be commanded to self-destruct. A day is coming, when all the stars of the heavens will be dissolved and the sky rolled up like a scroll (Isa 34:4). He will then wipe every tear from all eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. How glorious when our Healer will remove our pain - he has already provided the way through the cross.
Therefore in times of pain, let us persevere. Peter tells us that "when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised (Heb 10:36)".
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
On Life's Journey
Our journey in life towards eternity very much mirrors Israelites' journey from slavery to Canaan. The Lord heard the cry of the Israelites from their state of slavery in Egypt and decided to take them into a land flowing with milk & honey. (Exo 2:23b,25, Exo 3:7,8, Deu 8:7-9) In life's journey too, we face sickness, death, catastrophes, etc., in this world (Rom 8:22) but we are headed towards a new Heaven and new Earth, where there will be no death or mourning or crying or pain. (Rev 21:1,4)
We can learn 3 things from the Exodus which is a 'type' of the real journey called life:
1. The Lord gave 3 miracles for Moses to perform and prove to the Israelite leaders that the Lord has indeed seen their plight and has sent Moses & Aaron. The people believed their message after seeing the signs (Exo 4:29-31) but at the first difficulty they faced, they got discouraged and pleaded to be left alone. When Pharaoh asked the slave drivers to make work intense, they forgot God's message and His signs. (Exo 5:1,6,9,20,21, Exo 6:9b) Even so, a lot of us come to Christ and start on our journey after God intervenes in our life - say through a healing or a miracle in answer to our prayers - but we get discouraged so quickly when we face difficulty. We fail to recognize that the Lord who gave us 'starting' power can also sustain us with 'staying' power. This mistake comes from lack of right knowledge and expectation. The Bible tells us that in this world we will have troubles (2 Tim 3:12) but asks us to be of good cheer as he has overcome the world. (John 16:33b) Our expectation is not like that of the pessimist or the Stoic who anticipates the worst and thinks that is the best way to handle it. Our expectation is that there could be difficulties but He will be with us and see us through.
2. When they faced the Red sea with the Egyptian army charging behind them, they were again dismayed. (Exodus 14:11-13) Very often when we face difficulties, we assume there is no way out. We think of some solutions to our problems and when we do not see those solutions materializing, we lose all hope. We fail to understand that what we think as solution with our limited knowledge need not be the best or the only solution.
When caught in traffic, someone inside a car may have no idea how to get out of it. A police man on the road, at the intersection may have a better idea of what is the best way for any vehicle to get out of the jam. Better still, someone hovering about 50 feet above in a helicopter may have the best idea how long this will take to clear and what is the best way for vehicles to untangle. Our view is like that of the person inside the car, or with some additional research/ knowledge like that of the policeman, but our good Lord has the best view.
God's response to the Israelites in this juncture was to be still. (Exo 14:14, Psa 46:10a) It is possible to remain still only if we have faith that our Lord is with us and will see us through. Let us trust the Lord who told "if you believed, you will see the glory of God" and stand firm until we see the miraculous deliverance from the Lord, just as he lead the Israelites on dry ground after parting the sea.
3. When they had no water, and again when they had no meat, the Israelites complained and even cried, and pined for the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, garlics and meat that they had in Egypt. (Exo 16:3, Num 11:5,6,10) Of the hundreds of thousands who started on the journey to Canaan, only Moses, Joshua and Caleb lived to see the land of plenty because they strained towards what is ahead forgetting what is behind. Like the majority of the Israelites, we often get fixated on some material losses and lose sight of our destination -- we trade with the eternal for the temporal. We often direct our efforts and prayers at getting material blessings (of this world) but remain weak spiritually. The bible says if you falter at times of trouble, your strength is feeble. (Pro 24:10) We need to wait on the Lord, and renew our strength as the eagle, and rise up. (Isa 40:31, Psa 103:6) Very often we just interpret this verse physically and ask for good strength even as we age but fail to realize that inner strength is important. Our faith in times of adversity will be only as strong as we are in our spirit. We need to consciously keep building up our inner man. Else, the devil will use life's difficulties to deter us from our path.
Let us never forget that we are on our way to heaven. The Lord who brought us onto his highway with signs and wonders is an Almighty God and his arm is never too short. He is a God who makes a way for us, where there seems to be none. He has promised to break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. (Isa 45:2) While we will see his glory if we believed, we are also to remember that if only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. (I Cor 15:19) Let us therefore look ahead to our reward and not be bogged down by what we have or do not have in this world. We have miles to go.
We can learn 3 things from the Exodus which is a 'type' of the real journey called life:
1. The Lord gave 3 miracles for Moses to perform and prove to the Israelite leaders that the Lord has indeed seen their plight and has sent Moses & Aaron. The people believed their message after seeing the signs (Exo 4:29-31) but at the first difficulty they faced, they got discouraged and pleaded to be left alone. When Pharaoh asked the slave drivers to make work intense, they forgot God's message and His signs. (Exo 5:1,6,9,20,21, Exo 6:9b) Even so, a lot of us come to Christ and start on our journey after God intervenes in our life - say through a healing or a miracle in answer to our prayers - but we get discouraged so quickly when we face difficulty. We fail to recognize that the Lord who gave us 'starting' power can also sustain us with 'staying' power. This mistake comes from lack of right knowledge and expectation. The Bible tells us that in this world we will have troubles (2 Tim 3:12) but asks us to be of good cheer as he has overcome the world. (John 16:33b) Our expectation is not like that of the pessimist or the Stoic who anticipates the worst and thinks that is the best way to handle it. Our expectation is that there could be difficulties but He will be with us and see us through.
2. When they faced the Red sea with the Egyptian army charging behind them, they were again dismayed. (Exodus 14:11-13) Very often when we face difficulties, we assume there is no way out. We think of some solutions to our problems and when we do not see those solutions materializing, we lose all hope. We fail to understand that what we think as solution with our limited knowledge need not be the best or the only solution.
When caught in traffic, someone inside a car may have no idea how to get out of it. A police man on the road, at the intersection may have a better idea of what is the best way for any vehicle to get out of the jam. Better still, someone hovering about 50 feet above in a helicopter may have the best idea how long this will take to clear and what is the best way for vehicles to untangle. Our view is like that of the person inside the car, or with some additional research/ knowledge like that of the policeman, but our good Lord has the best view.
God's response to the Israelites in this juncture was to be still. (Exo 14:14, Psa 46:10a) It is possible to remain still only if we have faith that our Lord is with us and will see us through. Let us trust the Lord who told "if you believed, you will see the glory of God" and stand firm until we see the miraculous deliverance from the Lord, just as he lead the Israelites on dry ground after parting the sea.
3. When they had no water, and again when they had no meat, the Israelites complained and even cried, and pined for the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, garlics and meat that they had in Egypt. (Exo 16:3, Num 11:5,6,10) Of the hundreds of thousands who started on the journey to Canaan, only Moses, Joshua and Caleb lived to see the land of plenty because they strained towards what is ahead forgetting what is behind. Like the majority of the Israelites, we often get fixated on some material losses and lose sight of our destination -- we trade with the eternal for the temporal. We often direct our efforts and prayers at getting material blessings (of this world) but remain weak spiritually. The bible says if you falter at times of trouble, your strength is feeble. (Pro 24:10) We need to wait on the Lord, and renew our strength as the eagle, and rise up. (Isa 40:31, Psa 103:6) Very often we just interpret this verse physically and ask for good strength even as we age but fail to realize that inner strength is important. Our faith in times of adversity will be only as strong as we are in our spirit. We need to consciously keep building up our inner man. Else, the devil will use life's difficulties to deter us from our path.
Let us never forget that we are on our way to heaven. The Lord who brought us onto his highway with signs and wonders is an Almighty God and his arm is never too short. He is a God who makes a way for us, where there seems to be none. He has promised to break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. (Isa 45:2) While we will see his glory if we believed, we are also to remember that if only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. (I Cor 15:19) Let us therefore look ahead to our reward and not be bogged down by what we have or do not have in this world. We have miles to go.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Living out life's purpose
You would have often heard it said that ‘Man is the crown of God’s creation. Generally it is used in the sense that having been created in God’s own image, we are the highest forms of life, more glorious than animals and even angels. However, it is also true in another sense. Just as a crown gives glory to the King who wears it, our purpose in life as crown on God’s head is to bring him the Glory that he is worthy of.
The Bible affirms that man's purpose in life as intended by God is to bring glory to HIM. Peter tells the church (I Pet 2:9), "you are a chosen people . . . that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkeness into his wonderful light". Paul writes to the Ephesians (Eph 1:11,12), "In him we were also chosen . . . in order that we . . . might be for the praise of his glory". Man finds ultimate fulfillment when he serves this purpose. Often we look at our accomplishments and material success hoping they will give us fulfillment, but at the end we find only weariness in life. Our heart finds true pleasure in being in fellowship with God. In the Bible, 'Glorifying God' has been expressed in different ways as "declaring his praise", "worshiping" and so on.
God's purpose for man is so unmistakeable in the Bible, that you can find it from Genesis (Gen 4:3,4) right till Revelation (Rev 22:9).
Meaningful Worship
NOW, if man was created to declare his praises, is he a VAIN God excessively concerned about how great he is that he can be deceived by flattery which is passed off as praise? Does God fall for sycophancy and dole out blessings, like our politicians do?
The Bible says that God discerns 'flattery' from 'genuine praise'. The Psalmist sings of such people "they would flatter him with their mouths, lying to him with their tongues; their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant" (Psa 78:35-37). God accepts only the praise that comes from a loving heart and his word says that if we love God, we will obey his commandments.
He is not deceived by the quality or sophistication of our 'praise' when our heart is not loyal to him. He says of the offerings by people who have not listened to his words and have rejected his law, "What do I care about incense from Sheba or sweet calamus from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please me".(Jer 6:19,20)
We are not to approach "praise" as a success-formula or as a ‘Guaranteed to work’ methodology for obtaining God’s favour, as is often made out by some. Of such people, the Lord says "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men".(Isa 29:13).
God is not interested in mindless worship that one indulges in as a matter of mere habit/routine. The Lord speaks to prophet Ezekiel, "My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice". He knows when worship is born out of a selfish greed that hopes to gain from praising God. He tells the prophet, "With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain". He discerns when worship becomes mere entertainment. "Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice" (Eze 33:31,32).
Beyond lip-service
True worship from a loving and obedient heart is not confined to just community and private prayer. Deriving fulfilment from serving life's purpose too, is not limited to just Sundays and quiet hours. In fact, God expects us to be a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1). We can do that by striving to glorify God in all that we do. When we do not seek our own good but the good of others, we cause many to praise their creator (I Cor 10:31-33, Mat 5:16). When we look at ourselves as stewards of all the blessings we receive and help God bless the whole world through us - his body - we glorify God as we turn multitude of hearts to be thankful towards their creator (Heb 13:16, II Cor 9:8). This is how we can praise God, round the clock, all days of the week, around the year and be a living sacrifice.
Let us find meaning in life, through worship that is acceptable and pleasing to God. Let our worship come from a heart that is overflowing with love for God and thankfulness for HIS love. Let it not come out of greed or as a matter of following a rule. Let us ask God to help us understand His love so that our hearts will overflow with love for Him and offer genuine praise. Let us extend this meaningful worship to all parts of our life, by seeking the good of others and realizing that we are His stewards.
Meaningful worship will not only bring true happiness in this world, but will also earn us our master’s accolade when we meet Him in glory. 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
The Bible affirms that man's purpose in life as intended by God is to bring glory to HIM. Peter tells the church (I Pet 2:9), "you are a chosen people . . . that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkeness into his wonderful light". Paul writes to the Ephesians (Eph 1:11,12), "In him we were also chosen . . . in order that we . . . might be for the praise of his glory". Man finds ultimate fulfillment when he serves this purpose. Often we look at our accomplishments and material success hoping they will give us fulfillment, but at the end we find only weariness in life. Our heart finds true pleasure in being in fellowship with God. In the Bible, 'Glorifying God' has been expressed in different ways as "declaring his praise", "worshiping" and so on.
God's purpose for man is so unmistakeable in the Bible, that you can find it from Genesis (Gen 4:3,4) right till Revelation (Rev 22:9).
Meaningful Worship
NOW, if man was created to declare his praises, is he a VAIN God excessively concerned about how great he is that he can be deceived by flattery which is passed off as praise? Does God fall for sycophancy and dole out blessings, like our politicians do?
The Bible says that God discerns 'flattery' from 'genuine praise'. The Psalmist sings of such people "they would flatter him with their mouths, lying to him with their tongues; their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant" (Psa 78:35-37). God accepts only the praise that comes from a loving heart and his word says that if we love God, we will obey his commandments.
He is not deceived by the quality or sophistication of our 'praise' when our heart is not loyal to him. He says of the offerings by people who have not listened to his words and have rejected his law, "What do I care about incense from Sheba or sweet calamus from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please me".(Jer 6:19,20)
We are not to approach "praise" as a success-formula or as a ‘Guaranteed to work’ methodology for obtaining God’s favour, as is often made out by some. Of such people, the Lord says "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men".(Isa 29:13).
God is not interested in mindless worship that one indulges in as a matter of mere habit/routine. The Lord speaks to prophet Ezekiel, "My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice". He knows when worship is born out of a selfish greed that hopes to gain from praising God. He tells the prophet, "With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain". He discerns when worship becomes mere entertainment. "Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice" (Eze 33:31,32).
Beyond lip-service
True worship from a loving and obedient heart is not confined to just community and private prayer. Deriving fulfilment from serving life's purpose too, is not limited to just Sundays and quiet hours. In fact, God expects us to be a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1). We can do that by striving to glorify God in all that we do. When we do not seek our own good but the good of others, we cause many to praise their creator (I Cor 10:31-33, Mat 5:16). When we look at ourselves as stewards of all the blessings we receive and help God bless the whole world through us - his body - we glorify God as we turn multitude of hearts to be thankful towards their creator (Heb 13:16, II Cor 9:8). This is how we can praise God, round the clock, all days of the week, around the year and be a living sacrifice.
Let us find meaning in life, through worship that is acceptable and pleasing to God. Let our worship come from a heart that is overflowing with love for God and thankfulness for HIS love. Let it not come out of greed or as a matter of following a rule. Let us ask God to help us understand His love so that our hearts will overflow with love for Him and offer genuine praise. Let us extend this meaningful worship to all parts of our life, by seeking the good of others and realizing that we are His stewards.
Meaningful worship will not only bring true happiness in this world, but will also earn us our master’s accolade when we meet Him in glory. 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
Monday, August 18, 2008
Considering how the heroes lived
Paul exhorted the Jews of his time "Remember your leaders . . . Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith." (Heb 13:7). He had just produced a long list of warriors of faith that reads like a Who's Who of the times past - a Hebrew hall-of-fame - a couple of chapters before making this exhortation. He had also asked them to look up skyward at this great cloud of witnesses and at Jesus the Morning Star, and run with perseverance the race marked out for us, without growing weary and losing heart (Heb 12:1-3). We too will do well to heed this advice and look at the giants of faith amongst our ancestors and in the 20 centuries since Paul's exhortation, and follow their footsteps.
While I would want to look at the faith of some modern-day giants at a future date, today I would like to look closely at the early Patriarchs - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. All three obeyed God under circumstances that were not conducive.
Abraham's was a life of faith - believing he will be a father when he was without child and already 99 years old, believing he will be a father of nations when he had just one child, and obeying God's command to sacrifice even this only begotten son -- a bundle of joy he had awaited for atleast 25 years if not more . . . And it all began about 25 years earlier when the Lord told him "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great Nation." Abraham, then Abram, was a resident of the UR of the Chaldeans. Ur was a thriving city inside Mesopotamia (corresponding to modern Iraq, North-East Syria, South-East Turkey and South-West Iran) - often referred to as the cradle of Civilization. Ur, according to one estimate, was the largest city in the world from 2030 to 1980 B.C. Here was a man who was being called from the most developed part of the world at the time, to an obscure, under-developed part by God. Imagine someone in the U.S. being called by God to go to the dark continent to live among tribals -- not many can palate such a thought, leave alone heeding such a call. And this man, stepped out in faith. The Bible says, he took his wife, his nephew, all the possessions they had accumulated and all the people they had acquired, and set out for the land of Canaan. His caravan would have had to walk across deserts, braving the bandits, defying the desert storms, all in faith on the one who called.
Abraham's son Isaac, we see, had excelled where his distinguished father had failed. Earlier in Abraham's time, there had been a severe famine (Gen 12:10). The Hero of Faith who had journeyed to Canaan all the way from Ur, did not have the faith to stay in Canaan. He had tried to escape famine by running to Egypt and was apparently successful acquiring, livestock, menservants and maidservants. Little would he have realized that one of these Egyptian maidservants - acquired when his faith wavered for once - would prove to be cause for torment not only for him but for all generations. Fourteen chapters later, in Isaac's time, there is again a famine. Isaac was probably contemplating moving to Egypt, while in Gerar among the Philistines, when the Lord tells him "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands . . .(Gen 26:1-3). In verse 12, we find that Isaac planted crops in that land. Imagine someone planting crops during a famine, during years of drought . . . he would have been laughed at. He had faith on the Lord who promised to bless him even when there was a wasting famine around. And we find that he reaped a hundred-fold because the Lord blessed him. He became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very rich. (Gen 26.12,13). Did not Jeremiah say centuries later, "blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. (Jer 17:7,8) "
Jacob was probably the most unlikely hero. Here was a man trying to be successful in life through deceit. He is now running away from his brother who is seeking his life, anxious for food and clothing, despairing for life itself. His 'gate of heaven' experience at Luz, leads him to place his trust on the Lord. At Paddan Aram, he finds his match in his maternal uncle Laban, who is a master of deceit. He first tricks him into hard-labour for 7 years for a wife, tricks him again into another 7 years for the girl he loved, by marrying off the other daughter through deceit, and attempts to trick him by changing his wages 10 times in the next 6 years. After 20 years of settling in a far-off land, having learnt to thrive under the nose of the deceitful Laban, he hears the Lord telling him "Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you." (Gen 31:3) Paddan Aram is now his home. The one who had just a staff when he came over, now has livestock, menservants, maidservants and two groups (of family). But instead of trusting his possessions, he trusted the Lord who showed him kindness and faithfulness that he was totally unworthy of. He dared to meet his brother again, risking the lives of his wifes, his dear children and his own, in obedience and faith on the one who said "I will make you prosper". (Gen 32:10-12)
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob . . . all were sure of what they hoped for, certain of what they did not see, placing their faith on the one who spoke to them. And God was not ashamed to be called their God. Do we trust God with our lives - having seen God's love and faithfulness expressed unambiguously in his son Jesus ?
While I would want to look at the faith of some modern-day giants at a future date, today I would like to look closely at the early Patriarchs - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. All three obeyed God under circumstances that were not conducive.
Abraham's was a life of faith - believing he will be a father when he was without child and already 99 years old, believing he will be a father of nations when he had just one child, and obeying God's command to sacrifice even this only begotten son -- a bundle of joy he had awaited for atleast 25 years if not more . . . And it all began about 25 years earlier when the Lord told him "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great Nation." Abraham, then Abram, was a resident of the UR of the Chaldeans. Ur was a thriving city inside Mesopotamia (corresponding to modern Iraq, North-East Syria, South-East Turkey and South-West Iran) - often referred to as the cradle of Civilization. Ur, according to one estimate, was the largest city in the world from 2030 to 1980 B.C. Here was a man who was being called from the most developed part of the world at the time, to an obscure, under-developed part by God. Imagine someone in the U.S. being called by God to go to the dark continent to live among tribals -- not many can palate such a thought, leave alone heeding such a call. And this man, stepped out in faith. The Bible says, he took his wife, his nephew, all the possessions they had accumulated and all the people they had acquired, and set out for the land of Canaan. His caravan would have had to walk across deserts, braving the bandits, defying the desert storms, all in faith on the one who called.
Abraham's son Isaac, we see, had excelled where his distinguished father had failed. Earlier in Abraham's time, there had been a severe famine (Gen 12:10). The Hero of Faith who had journeyed to Canaan all the way from Ur, did not have the faith to stay in Canaan. He had tried to escape famine by running to Egypt and was apparently successful acquiring, livestock, menservants and maidservants. Little would he have realized that one of these Egyptian maidservants - acquired when his faith wavered for once - would prove to be cause for torment not only for him but for all generations. Fourteen chapters later, in Isaac's time, there is again a famine. Isaac was probably contemplating moving to Egypt, while in Gerar among the Philistines, when the Lord tells him "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands . . .(Gen 26:1-3). In verse 12, we find that Isaac planted crops in that land. Imagine someone planting crops during a famine, during years of drought . . . he would have been laughed at. He had faith on the Lord who promised to bless him even when there was a wasting famine around. And we find that he reaped a hundred-fold because the Lord blessed him. He became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very rich. (Gen 26.12,13). Did not Jeremiah say centuries later, "blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. (Jer 17:7,8) "
Jacob was probably the most unlikely hero. Here was a man trying to be successful in life through deceit. He is now running away from his brother who is seeking his life, anxious for food and clothing, despairing for life itself. His 'gate of heaven' experience at Luz, leads him to place his trust on the Lord. At Paddan Aram, he finds his match in his maternal uncle Laban, who is a master of deceit. He first tricks him into hard-labour for 7 years for a wife, tricks him again into another 7 years for the girl he loved, by marrying off the other daughter through deceit, and attempts to trick him by changing his wages 10 times in the next 6 years. After 20 years of settling in a far-off land, having learnt to thrive under the nose of the deceitful Laban, he hears the Lord telling him "Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you." (Gen 31:3) Paddan Aram is now his home. The one who had just a staff when he came over, now has livestock, menservants, maidservants and two groups (of family). But instead of trusting his possessions, he trusted the Lord who showed him kindness and faithfulness that he was totally unworthy of. He dared to meet his brother again, risking the lives of his wifes, his dear children and his own, in obedience and faith on the one who said "I will make you prosper". (Gen 32:10-12)
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob . . . all were sure of what they hoped for, certain of what they did not see, placing their faith on the one who spoke to them. And God was not ashamed to be called their God. Do we trust God with our lives - having seen God's love and faithfulness expressed unambiguously in his son Jesus ?
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Deceitful Pretense
Last week, we looked at the right way to dress up that will bring us growth -- imitating Christ towards perfection. This is a slow and painful process of constantly looking into the mirror of His Word, and being taught, rebuked, corrected and trained in righteousness. (2Tim3:16). This is a process that works inside out. This growth process constantly reminds us about what we lack in love, humility, forgiveness and faithful response to suffering. This reminds us that by ourselves we are selfish, proud, unforgiving and looking out for self-gratification, and that we need to lean heavily on His grace to bring forth the fruit of righteousness.
This is much like how a small manufacturing company would like to emulate a leader that has already grown to enormous proportions. It would want to emulate the engineering processes that guarantee quality work-products, the training methodologies that produce well-equipped work-force, and HR practices that keep the work-force motivated, for the industry-leader. However, this is a slow process that can not be completed overnight. This company would need to identify gaps, bring changes to bridge the gaps, and let the processes, methodologies and practices mature. Growing to be a Son of God is very much the same except that we grow by leaning on HIS grace and not on our own efforts.
Since this is often painfully slow, most of us often look for a quick way to grow. We look out for short-cuts that will quickly take us where we want to be and in the process we are deceived. Since there is no short-cut to growth, we often find ways that give us a feeling of having grown, where in reality we have not progressed much. We start focusing on the outward results without bothering if anything has changed on the inside. This is akin to a small company learning to advertise like a leader while continuing to produce inferior products. Or worse still, a company deciding to produce counterfeits and be an impostor in a market place that has unsuspecting consumers. This is what a desire for quick-gratification often leads us to.
It is the same in the spiritual world too. Paul warns Timothy that in the last days, there will be people 'having a form of godliness but denying its power". On the outward they will look like godly people – either professing to be godly people, or showing themselves to be godly with all external marks of godliness – but denying the fruit of godliness. Instead of loving others more than themselves, they will be lovers of themselves and lovers of money. Instead of regarding others as honorable than themselves, they will be boastful, proud, abusive and disobedient to parents. Instead of forgiving others as they themselves have been forgiven by the Heavenly father, they will be without love, unforgiving, slanderous and brutal. Instead of being patient in suffering, they will be ungrateful, unholy and lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. (2Tim3:2-5)
Why does this happen in the spiritual world? It could be because we, like the Pharisees, love praise from men more than praise from God (John 12:43). The Pharisees loved to pray standing in the synagogues and on street corners to be seen by men (Mat 6:5). When they fasted they looked somber and disfigured their faces to show men they were fasting (Mat 6:16). When they gave to the needy, they announced it with trumpets in public places. Do we spend time with God alone in our rooms more than we spend in community worship? If not, we better beware of the trap of enacting righteousness before men to be seen by them. Jesus warns that such people have received their reward in full.
If we are not playing out to the crowd, we could be playing out to God himself. We do this when we trust God for this life alone and for things of this world. In a world that is heavily focused on wealth, success and fame, we could be attempting to deceive God, hoping to be blessed. We try to hide the dirt inside and hope that God will be pleased by our prayers and praises. But rather than deceiving God, we will be deceiving ourselves. For God is not fooled by our appearances. Paul warns the Ephesians, "No immoral, impure or greedy person has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God . . . for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient (Eph 5:5,6)
A third possibility is that our conscience could have become seared as with a hot iron. We might listen to the word but not do what it says. The Bible likens such a person to a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like (James 1:23,24). Paul calls them as men who are always learning but never acknowledging the truth.
Where do we stand today ? Are we imitating Christ and growing to be like him, or are we being an impostor masquerading as Christ? The difference is in the intention. The imitator is looking up to Christ, while the impostor is looking out to deceive. While we find how fallen we are, we could either be driven to our knees in humility, painfully conscious of our insufficiency and seeking His grace, or we could be driven to put up a facade of righteousness, unwilling to admit our inadequacy. A dangerous line divides the Imitators and Impostors. On which side are you?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
