But you have neglected the more important matters

"But you have neglected the more important matters..." Matthew 23:23

A dear friend of mine is very soon going to get married. He wrote me recently an email conveying that news, which I was thrilled to read.
Having known him as a fine German christian, I was glad to see the unfolding of a new chapter in his life and another role that he will be fulfilling in this earthly pilgrimage.
The role of a husband.
In that email he also asked me if I could speak for 10-15 minutes on his wedding day on the topic "how to live a christian life".
An offer I happily accepted after giving a thought to it.
Matthew 22:35-40, was the passage that time and again surfaced to the top of my thoughts, as I was pondering over what to say on that topic.
Paraphrased version of that passage is like this.
A teacher of the law, a Pharisee, trying to trick or test Jesus asked him, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law ?"
Funny though, how often when the intent is to express sharp disagreement with someone, the opening words of such statements are the most gracious or of great appraisal of the person they are addressed to.
For example, "Sir all with all due respect, I think you are wrong...".!!!
The Pharisee, even though with an intent trick or tempt Jesus, addresses Jesus as "Teacher".
Probably this same man was one among the others, who few days later will be shouting at the top of their voice "Away with him, Crucify him" at the trial of Jesus.
Jesus answers him straight forwardly. Straightforwardly because, Jesus roughly nine out ten times responded the questioner with a question.
But here he resorts to answering the question plainly.
Jesus responds by saying "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."
And "Love your neighbor as yourself."
Jesus declares the former statement as the great and foremost commandment, and the latter one as the second great commandment.
This is a huge step in the condensation of the ten commandments and scores of others that the Lord gave to the Israelites. 
Jesus went on further to say "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." Wow!
What an authority Jesus displays here in his speech, as recorded in this passage.
Reading those words don't we find saying to ourselves, just like those two on the road of Emmaus after hearing Jesus speak (not knowing he was Jesus) said to each other
"Did not our hearts burn within ourselves all the while he was speaking to us?".
There are three principles, I think, Jesus wants us to get hold of, from these two statements on which, as he says, hang all the Law and the Prophets.
(1) Your Worship is sacred. "Love the Lord your God". What do we love the most? What is our greatest desire?
It would become clear, I think, what I love the most or what is my greatest desire, if somehow the thoughts and desires of my heart could be videotaped for a week and then displayed on the screen.
Could it be my life, my spouse, my friend, money, comforts of life, car, sports, and the list goes on. A life with no reference to God.
Can we really with all integrity say like David said in Psalms 27
"One thing I ask from the Lord,
    this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
    and to seek him in his temple."

Jesus said "Love the Lord your God" because your Worship is sacred in the sight of God.

(2) Your Body is sacred. "...with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." In John 4, Jesus speaking to a woman, who had lived a life of adultery, even till the very moment she encountered Jesus, the only worshipers that God the Father seeks for and is pleased with, are the ones who worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.
After receiving Jesus as the Lord and Saviour of our lives, our bodies become the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, 1 Corinthians 6:19. The Spirit of Truth, John 16:13.
Enabling us to present the worship that is acceptable to God, Romans 12:1 and 2.
What are we doing with our bodies? Are we aware of the treasure that God has placed in this jars of clay, 2 Corinthians 4:7.
Jars of clay that is our body. Our bodies are sacred in the sight of God. And only He as the potter can know the value of His creation. And only He can restore that value and sacredness, which has been lost due to our sin fallen nature.
(3) Your Relationships are sacred. Jesus said, "Love your neighbor as your self."
"...as your self", now this is not a biblical warrant for engaging in selfish or self-centered love. This statement of Jesus is similar in spirit and essence as the one in another place where he says "Do unto all men as ye would they should do unto you".
For married people, Paul says, Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her. Wives respect your husbands.
Towards our fellow brothers and sisters in the body of Christ, the church, Jesus commanded, "Love one another as I have loved". Witnessing this
kind of love within the church, the lost world will know that we are truly disciples of Jesus, John 13:34 and 35.
Towards our enemies, Jesus commands "love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you", Matthew 5:44.
Is there anyone left? That covers all the spheres of relationships, broadly put !

But the necessary thing to understand here is this, that the source of that kind of selfless love for our neighbor is the love for the Lord our God.
There is no way one can show Christ like love to his or her neighbor, unless he or she is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. And thus that person has put God in first and foremost place in his or her life.
Then and only then, that amazing love can be displayed or shown towards others, "because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us", Romans 5:5.

Our worship is sacred in the sight of God. Our bodies are sacred in the sight of God. Our relationships are sacred in the sight of God.
Are they sacred in our sight too?
They should be, if we truly call ourselves to be followers of Christ. May we not neglect the "more important matters".
They should be important to us, because they are important to God.

Humble beginning or humble return...

I have been away from penning my thoughts on this blog for almost 2 years now! In terms of eternity, that is not quite a long while. But in terms of our average earthly life span, it is. But, I have been thinking for a while now to return to this blog, which I created a while ago. 
One of the reasons that drove me back to this blog was the intention I had in mind when I made/created this blog. I wanted to share with my fellow beings, my thoughts about things and issues which I often find myself thinking through. These issues may range from the present state of world affairs or even mundane issues of daily life, whatever that means! Share my thoughts with others about everything, as a christian. A christian mind is not that only thinks about spiritual things, but it is a mind that thinks about anything around the world and beyond, yes, even those mundane aspects of this life, but from a biblical perspective. It is like wearing a set of colored goggles, and looking around.
On a more personal level, a lot has happened in my life in these last two years. Exciting things, challenging things, hard things, most of these things have molded me into a better person. I have finished some studies, started some new ones. 
Met some new people and new relationships were made. Heard from some old friends, and old relationships were strengthened. I was challenged by others, encouraged and built up and did the same to others who were around me. Visited some wonderful, breathtaking, scenic places. Thankful to God for all those wonderful people, places and experiences that enveloped me all my life so far. God has definitely orchestrated the change in my life though all these!  

So, all in all I am happy to be back. After having left this blog barren for almost two years, I want to now cultivate and sow here the seeds of my thoughts and convictions and experiences, in the form of words. I hope to keep the commitment of writing here on a rather more regular basis, a commitment that would last, at least longer than the time I have been absent since my last contribution here ! 

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:" Philippians 2:5

Follow me - Being a disciple of Christ

The model: Becoming more like Christ - Rev. John Stott

I remember very vividly, some years ago, that the question which perplexed me as a younger Christian (and some of my friends as well) was this: what is God’s purpose for His people? Granted that we have been converted, granted that we have been saved and received new life in Jesus Christ, what comes next? Of course, we knew the famous statement of the Westminster Shorter Catechism: that man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever: we knew that, and we believed it. We also toyed with some briefer statements, like one of only five words – love God, love your neighbour. But somehow neither of these, nor some others that we could mention, seemed wholly satisfactory. So I want to share with you where my mind has come to rest as I approach the end of my pilgrimage on earth and it is – God wants His people to become like Christ. Christlikeness is the will of God for the people of God.

So if that is true, I am proposing the following: first to lay down the biblical basis for the call to Christlikeness: secondly, to give some New Testament examples of this; thirdly, to draw some practical conclusions. And it all relates to becoming like Christ.

So first is the biblical basis for the call to Christlikeness. This basis is not a single text: the basis is more substantial than can be encapsulated in a single text. The basis consists rather of three texts which we would do well to hold together in our Christian thinking and living: Romans 8:29, 2 Corinthians 3:18 and 1 John 3:2. Lets look at these three briefly.

Romans 8:29 reads that God has predestined His people to be conformed to the image of His Son: that is, to become like Jesus. We all know that when Adam fell he lost much – though not all – of the divine image in which he had been created. But God has restored it in Christ. Conformity to the image of God means to become like Jesus: Christlikeness is the eternal predestinating purpose of God.

My second text is 2 Corinthians 3:18: ‘And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness, from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.’ So it is by the indwelling Spirit Himself that we are being changed from glory to glory – it is a magnificent vision. In this second stage of becoming like Christ, you will notice that the perspective has changed from the past to the present, from God’s eternal predestination to His present transformation of us by the Holy Spirit. It has changed from God’s eternal purpose to make us like Christ, to His historical work by His Holy Spirit to transform us into the image of Jesus.

That brings me to my third text: 1 John 3:2. ‘Beloved, we are God’s children now and it does not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he appears, we will be like him, for we shall see him as he is.’ We don’t know in any detail what we shall be in the last day, but we do know that we will be like Christ. There is really no need for us to know any more than this. We are content with the glorious truth that we will be with Christ, like Christ, for ever.

Here are three perspectives – past, present and future. All of them are pointing in the same direction: there is God’s eternal purpose, we have been predestined; there is God’s historical purpose, we are being changed, transformed by the Holy Spirit; and there is God’s final or eschatalogical purpose, we will be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. All three, the eternal, the historical and the eschatalogical, combine towards the same end of Christlikeness. This, I suggest, is the purpose of God for the people of God. That is the biblical basis for becoming like Christ: it is the purpose of God for the people of God.

I want to move on to illustrate this truth with a number of New Testament examples. First, I think it is important for us to make a general statement, as the apostle John does in 1 John 2:6: ‘he who says he abides in Christ ought to walk in the same way as he walked.’ In other words, if we claim to be a Christian, we must be Christlike. Here is the first New Testament example: we are to be like Christ in his Incarnation.

Some of you may immediately recoil in horror from such an idea. Surely, you will say to me, the Incarnation was an altogether unique event and cannot possibly be imitated in any way? My answer to that question is yes and no. Yes, it was unique, in the sense that the Son of God took our humanity to himself in Jesus of Nazareth, once and for all and forever, never to be repeated. That is true. But there is another sense in which the Incarnation was not unique: the amazing grace of God in the Incarnation of Christ is to be followed by all of us. The Incarnation, in that sense, was not unique but universal. We are all called to follow the example of His great humility in coming down from heaven to earth. So Paul could write in Philippians 2:5-8: ‘Have this mind among yourselves, which was in Christ, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God some thing to be grasped for his own selfish enjoyment, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.’ We are to be like Christ in his Incarnation in the amazing self-humbling which lies behind the Incarnation.

Secondly, we are to be like Christ in His service. We move on now from his Incarnation to His life of service; from His birth to His life, from the beginning to the end. Let me invite you to come with me to the upper room where Jesus spent his last evening with His disciples, recorded in John’s gospel chapter 13: ‘He took off his outer garments, he tied a towel round him, he poured water into a basin and washed his disciples’ feet. When he had finished, he resumed his place and said, “If then I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet, for I have given you an example’ – notice the word – ‘ that you should do as I have done to you.’

Some Christians take Jesus’ command literally and have a foot-washing ceremony in their Lord’s Supper once a month or on Maundy Thursday – and they may be right to do it. But I think most of us transpose Jesus’ command culturally: that is just as Jesus performed what in His culture was the work of a slave, so we in our cultures must regard no task too menial or degrading to undertake for each other.

Thirdly, we are to be like Christ in His love. I think particularly now of Ephesians 5:2 – ‘walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.’ Notice that the text is in two parts. The first part is walk in love, an injunction that all our behaviour should be characterised by love, but the second part of the verse says that He gave Himself for us, which is not a continuous thing but an aorist, a past tense, a clear reference to the cross. Paul is urging us to be like Christ in his death, to love with self-giving Calvary love. Notice what is developing: Paul is urging us to be like the Christ of the Incarnation, to be like the Christ of the foot washing and to be like the Christ of the cross. These three events of the life of Christ indicate clearly what Christlikeness means in practice.

Fourthly, we are to be like Christ in His patient endurance. In this next example we consider not the teaching of Paul but of Peter. Every chapter of the first letter of Peter contains an allusion to our suffering like Christ, for the background to the letter is the beginnings of persecution. In chapter 2 of 1 Peter in particular, Peter urges Christian slaves, if punished unjustly, to bear it and not to repay evil for evil. For, Peter goes on, you and we have been called to this because Christ also suffered, leaving us an example – there is that word again – so that we may follow in His steps. This call to Christlikeness in suffering unjustly may well become increasingly relevant as persecution increases
in many cultures in the world today.

My fifth and last example from the New Testament is that we are to be like Christ in His mission. Having looked at the teaching of Paul and Peter, we come now to the teaching of Jesus recorded by John. In John 20:21, in prayer, Jesus said ‘As you, Father, have sent me into the world, so I send them into the world’ – that is us. And in his commissioning in John 17 he says ‘As the Father sent me into the world, so I send you.’ These words are immensely significant. This is not just the Johannine version of the Great Commission but it also an instruction that their mission in the world was to resemble Christ’s mission. In what respect? The key words in these texts are ’sent into the world’. As Christ had entered our world, so we are to enter other people’s worlds. It was eloquently explained by Archbishop Michael Ramsey some years ago: ‘We state and commend the faith only in so far as we go out and put ourselves with loving sympathy inside the doubts of the doubters, the questions of the questioners and the loneliness of those who have lost the way.’

This entering into other people’s worlds is exactly what we mean by incarnational evangelism. All authentic mission is incarnational mission. We are to be like Christ in his mission. These are the five main ways in which we are to be Christlike: in His Incarnation, in His service, in His love, in His endurance and in His mission.

Very briefly, I want to give you three practical consequences of Christlikeness.

Firstly, Christlikeness and the mystery of suffering. Suffering is a huge subject in itself and there are many ways in which Christians try to understand it. One way stands out: that suffering is part of God’s process of making us like Christ. Whether we suffer from a disappointment, a frustration or some other painful tragedy, we need to try to see this in the light of Romans 8:28-29. According to Romans 8:28, God is always working for the good of his people, and according to Romans 8:29, this good purpose is to make us like Christ.

Secondly, Christlikeness and the challenge of evangelism. Why is it, you must have asked, as I have, that in many situations our evangelistic efforts are often fraught with failure? Several reasons may be given and I do not want to over-simplify but one main reason is that we don’t look like the Christ we are proclaiming. John Poulton, who has written about this in a perceptive little book entitled A today sort of evangelism, wrote this:

‘The most effective preaching comes from those who embody the things they are saying. They are their message. Christians need to look like what they are talking about. It is people who communicate primarily, not words or ideas. Authenticity gets across. deep down in side people, what communicates now is basically personal authenticity.’

That is Christlikeness. Let me give you another example. There was a Hindu professor in India who once identified one of his students as a Christian and said to him: ‘If you Christians lived like Jesus Christ, India would be at your feet tomorrow.’ I think India would be at their feet today if we Christians lived like Christ. From the Islamic world, the Reverend Iskandar Jadeed, a former Arab Muslim, has said ‘If all Christians were Christians – that is, Christlike – there would be no more Islam today.’

That brings me to my third point – Christlikeness and the indwelling of the Spirit. I have spoken much tonight about Christlikeness but is it attainable? In our own strength it is clearly not attainable but God has given us his Holy Spirit to dwell within us, to change us from within. William Temple, Archbishop in the 1940s, used to illustrate this point from Shakespeare:

‘It is no good giving me a play like Hamlet or King Lear and telling me to write a play like that. Shakespeare could do it – I can’t. And it is no good showing me a life like the life of Jesus and telling me to live a life like that. Jesus could do it – I can’t. But if the genius of Shakespeare could come and live in me, then I could write plays like this. And if the Spirit could come into me, then I could live a life like His.’

So I conclude, as a brief summary of what we have tried to say to one another: God’s purpose is to make us like Christ. God’s way to make us like Christ is to fill us with his Spirit. In other words, it is a Trinitarian conclusion, concerning the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Though the fig tree does not bud.....

How many times when we find ourselves in a deep valley in this life's journey, have questioned bitterly or sometimes not so bitterly, why is God allowing this in my life, if He loves me? At times the questions become severe and the tone harsh, when we see someone so dearly loved by us, goes through these deep and dark valleys. Why is there pain and suffering when God is in control of everything? or even worse it leads some to "Does God exist at all?".

I am writing this, as recently I came across a song that I had heard long back. The song titled "I will sing" brought back with it all the precious memories that it holds, of my graduate days when I first heard it and the great comfort it was to read the passage in the Bible that this song arches on.

Prophet Habakuk says in ,3:17-19 :
"Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign LORD is my strength.."
The passage marks almost the end of the book, which is very short as far it's length goes in terms of the number of chapters it contains. You can read the book in all of it's entirety in just a couple of hours, which by the way I would sincerely urge to, every one reading this article.
C.S.Lewis said "I could write another chapter on pain and suffering, only when I get over with this terrible toothache". It's easy to ask the philosophical questions, and worse even to lead the conclusions thereof damning the existence of God, when one hasn't even gone through it.
But having gone through it does not give one a right, without careful and logical assessment of the issue, to negate God or His existence.

Count the cost before saying Yes!

Jesus said [Matthew 16] "If anyone wants to come after me , he must deny himself , take up the cross and follow me" and in another place he said [Luke 14:25-35] "If anyone wants to be my disciple he must first, hate his life, take up the cross and follow him" .
The last commandment that Jesus gave to his disciples before ascending up to his Father in heaven, also known popularly among evangelists as "Great commission" was that of "go ye therefore , and teach all nations" [Matthew 28:19], "teach all nations" literally means to "make disciples". Jesus did not send for people to preach and make Christians or followers of a denomination, but to make disciples.
The question I want to ask, before even going into the study of "discipleship" is :
Do you want to be a disciple of Jesus?
Let me be very clear before you dive right in with a "Yes", what even Jesus forewarned with, anyone wanting to be his disciple. The journey is is Hard , is Painful, is Long. But the best thing is, amidst all this he gives us his "Grace" [2 Corinthians 12:7-9] among other things which is sufficient for us to carry on. And then above all as the Bible always potray's this world is only a wilderness we go through until we reach the promised land. Where those who have walked this journey faithfully with God, will be. Where every tear will be wiped away, and joy shall abound for ever as we abide in His presence. Is not that a great assurance, the Lord Jesus himself gave us , "In my Father's house are many mansions, I go and prepare a place for you", assurance of a heavenly inheritence to all those who believe on Him and walk after Him while yet in this world.

Another thing here is, you cannot say "yes" if it were not given to you of the Father above [John 6:44]. There were more than the "Famous twelve" disciples that followed Jesus, but they all left him, when the teaching sounded to them hard.
The follow up question , if you said "yes" to the one above is:
Have you counted the cost of being a disciple of Jesus?

I am in Germany for a while now , and will be for a short while still. And amidst understanding the culture, I could see where it is on this earth, the need to hear the gospel is the same:great ! And the need to preach the gospel is the same :Urgent! But how can we even start to carry out this great comission that the Lord gave to His disciples, when we don't feel the urgency and heart of Jesus. Jesus said "As the Father sent me so I send you" , there for the mission of the church and for that reason of individual disciple, has to be inspired by the life of Jesus. The life of Jesus was one which embarced people of all walks of life, but influenced and touched by his love. It was a life of continual and close relationship with His Father. It was a life of sacrifice for others to make the way to God, by himself becoming the way.
I see the great need to share the true gospel, that would bring the true repentence. This great need is not only in the remote areas of Africa or India or any other corner of the world, where no one has ever heard about Jesus, but sadly this great need is right in the midst of where we live, in our villages, towns or cities. At our places of work, study or play. Being a disciple is a life that we ought to live rather than just speak. As some one said "because most of the time the only gospel people will ever read is "You" " !