Mirror Mirror in the Word !

James 1:22-25

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in the mirror and, after looking at himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently at the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it - he will be blessed in what he does.

• Word of God is a mirror of the inner man
• Word of God is a double edged sword that discerns the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
• It reflects the condition of our soul and spirit.
• Our spiritual condition is shown clearly through this mirror, nothing is hidden from it.
• We may be looking at a dirty, grimy or soiled face. We may be seeing a malnourished and lean frame, though our physical appearance may be beautiful and strong.
• We need to give attention to this reflection in the mirror of God's word.

1. Every dirt, grime and filth is comparable to a sin / part of our life and character which is not yet under the Lordship of Jesus. When the mirror of God's word convicts us of sin, we need to confess it and ask our loving Lord Jesus to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We need to be washed by the blood of the lamb.
   
   
2. When we see a lean or famished or sick soul it indicates that we are not feeding our soul and exercising our spirit. So we need to feed our soul with the heavenly manna of the word of God and ask the Lord to fill us with the living waters of the holy spirit. Even as we eat three times a day to nourish our physical body, we also need to give priority in our life to nourish our soul. Let us look intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and be doers of the word of God.
   
   
3. Our war is not against flesh and blood, as Paul wrote in the Ephesians. So we need to exercise our spirit through Prayer. "Pray without ceasing" the bible encourages us.
   

Let us not put away or ignore this mirror or forget the image it reflects. Isn't it this very mirror which is going to confront and challenge us when one day we leave our body behind and stand before our Judge at the gates of heaven?

Questions, Questions

Questions are not new to us. We ask questions on a daily basis like "What is the time now?" or "Where shall we meet for a cup of coffee?", etc. As I was reading the bible I came across quite a questions there as well. Some of these questions were thought provoking, which I thought of sharing here.

Question of Clarification:

Luke 1:34 "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

When the angel Gabriel announces the birth of Jesus to Mary, she has a question. Her question was a genuine question to clarify what she did not understand. The angel was prompt in replying to this question and Mary had received her answer.

Question of Doubt:

Now take the case of Zechariah ; when the same angel announced the birth of John the Baptist, Zechariah raised a question too. Luke 1:18

Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this?"

Unlike Mary's question, this was a question of doubt and showed faithlessness toward the word of God and showed no trust in this message from heaven, especially because he was a priest of God. The angel was displeased and Zechariah could not speak till the promised was fulfilled! Such questions of doubt show the lack of faith and break the heart of God.

Close-minded question:

The pharisees questioned Nicodemus in John 7:52 ,

They replied, "Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it & you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee." 

This question came from the Pharisees who were well-versed in the Torah and the scriptures, well-learned in those times, and it also has a fact in it - that Messiah will come from Bethlehem and not Galilee. But it also shows that they were not open-minded to go to Jesus or his disciples to clarify if he was from Bethlehem and whether he was a descendant of David. Their knowledge only raised a barrier from seeking and knowing the truth.

Dr. Ravi Zacharias in one of his books writes, "Intellect is not an end by itself, it is a means to the very mind of God."  Let our questions help us to seek the truth.

Question of sarcasm:

John 18:38 records yet another question,

"What is truth?"

This was asked by Pilate to Jesus. Jesus had just told him, "I came into this world to testify to the truth." But pilate cross questioned Jesus, "What is truth?" however he did not wait to receive the answer. He went out to the Jews. This question was not a seeker's question to understand the truth but one of sarcasm, which left Pilate in the dark while he was in the presence of the 'Light and Truth'.

Questions of Jesus:

Jesus asked many questions during his life time, however I want to highlight three question here.

Matthew 16:26 records, "What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?" 

Jesus' question opens  our mind and heart to the condition of our soul. Bible says the word of God is a double-edged sword that judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. As we meditate on God's word, let us allow it to inspect the need of our hearts and the condition of our soul in order to remedy it at the foot of the cross.

John 4:7 records the question Jesus asked the Samaritan woman,

"Will you give me a drink?" 

Jesus did not ask this question because he was thirsty. But he spoke to her to introduce to her the living waters! No matter what our caste or creed or position in life, Jesus' questions are targeted at helping us to know him.

Another question from Jesus to the blind man who vociferously called our to Jesus "Son of David, have mercy on me." is recorded in Matthew 20:32.

"What do you want me to do for you?". 

To this blind man who so eagerly called on his name, Jesus asks what he can do for him? He is willing to forgive, love and bless us if we seek him diligently. The bible assures us in John 6:37,

"and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out."

So let us avoid the questions of doubt, close-mindedness and sarcasm and open our mind to the questions of Jesus that inspect our soul, seek after us beyond barriers and compel us to ask for his blessings in our life.  Amen.

The Right Self-Evaluation

Seeing ourselves through the eyes of the omniscient

Each of us has a self-image, an opinion about ourselves and our place in the family, workplace, church and in the community at large. Our interaction with others is highly influenced by our self-image. For example a student who feels he/she is a good orator will have no problem participating in presenting a project in front of a large audience. Whereas a person with low self esteem may have difficulties in facing an interview or other interactions.

So the right self-evaluation is key to living to our full potential. Sometimes we underestimate our talents and abilities and end up wasting our talents. There are also moments of over-confidence where we do not evaluate ourselves right. God’s word has guidance for us to evaluate ourselves right, let us take a look at them.

Uniquely and Wonderfully created:

         Genesis 1:27 clearly points out that “God created man in his own image”
   Psalm 139:14 beautifully asserts “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made”
 As we see from the above verses, each of us is created in God’s image, reflecting his characters of love, empathy, goodness, etc. And we are unique. We are precious in his sight and made for fulfilling his purposes. Let us derive confidence in the fact that we were designed unique and special in God’s thought before we were even conceived in our mother’s womb.

Thoughts and Attitudes matter


         1 Samuel 17:7 says “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 
So according to this verse our self-evaluation should not consider our outward appearances, rather look inside at the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. We need to introspect our motives rather than look at our actions per se.

Specially gifted for God’s work
 

        Rom 12:4.5 says “Just as each of us has one body with many members and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body.”
And he goes on to say in the following verses that each of us has different gifts of serving, teaching, encouraging, contributing to the needs of others, governing, etc. These verses affirm that each of use is uniquely bestowed with special gifts and abilities to enrich our family, the church and the community we live in.

However there are some warnings on how not to think of ourselves too…

We are NOT what we HAVE

         Luke 12:15 warns us “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kind of greed. A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” 
         Proverbs 10:22 assures us “The blessings of the Lord brings wealth and he adds no trouble to it.”
Hence our estimation of self, cannot be based on our possessions or our positions. It is God who gives us the ability, wisdom and knowledge to gain and retain wealth.

A call for humility

         Romans 12:13 also warns us of another error we often make “Do not think of yourself too highly than you ought , but rather thing of yourself in sober judgement.”
 This reminds us that we are human and prone to mistakes and we cannot be self-righteous or proud when we assess ourselves.

Looking at ourselves in the light of these markers from the Bible, will bring to light the fact that we are chosen, called, endowed, enabled and blessed by God to fulfill his purposes in the positions he has placed us in. We are called to be shinning lights for his glory. So let us joyfully shine in our spheres of influence which he has entrusted us with. Amen

Serving Our Community

The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40

Introduction

During the recent visit of our President Mr. Ram Nath Kovind to Madras University on the 5th of May, he recognized the contribution of Madras University in the field of education and acknowledged that 6 of the past Presidents of India were its alma matter. No other university can lay claim to such a great honor!  Another fact, not given as much attention that day, is the fact that four of our past Presidents namely Dr. Radhakrishnan, R.Venkataramanan, K.R. Narayanan, and Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam were alma matter of various Christian colleges and schools. 

Most of us would also be able to count quite a few friends and family members who have passed through the portals of such great Christian educational and medical institutions. As benefactors of such excellent service and influence, we also have the responsibility to support and strengthen these institutions and also focus on building newer Christ-centered educational, medical and vocational institutions.

Making a difference

Young minds are often influenced by the ideologies and philosophy that challenge them. These form the basis for their convictions and form pathways for their future journey and success in life. So it is imperative that christian institutions remain true to their calling and sow the seed of faith and integrity in these young minds. Proverbs 22:6 rightly points out the impressibility of young minds: “Train up a child in that way that he should go and even when he is old he will not turn from it”
We have been gifted with many well-known and sought-after schools, colleges and hospitals left behind as a legacy from various missionary organizations of the past. Actively participating in building our christian educational institutions and medical facilities requires dedicated, God-fearing, mission-minded people to choose careers in these institutions and come with a commitment to nurture the younger generation and build the future of our nation.

We find that Nehemiah was moved to tears when he heard about Jerusalem’s broken walls. Nehemiah 1:4 records “When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted and prayed to the God of heaven.”  Then Nehemiah sought the Lord’s mighty hand and guidance as he earned to re-build Jerusalem. He gave up his favorable, comfortable and well-paying job as a cup-bearer in the King Artaxerxes’ palace to go and rebuild Jerusalem.

It may be easy for us or our children to study in these institutions, excel in their specializations and move to a foreign country for better prospects and prosperity. But God has left us with a great legacy and the responsibility to safe guard it, enhance it, rise to modern day challenges and continue to influence, mould and prepare for the Master’s use, a young generation who will build a godly nation. So let us pray for God’s guidance as we choose our careers or council our children or youth on career choices to:

• Seek God’s will for our career
• Remember our roots
• Contribute to build our Christian institutions and our nation
• And honor our Lord!

A god fearing and dedicated youth can rise up as thought-leaders, influencers, nation-builders in their respective workplaces and spheres of influence, living as “Salt” and “Light” of the world. May the Lord lead us as we yield to His calling and help us serve our community according to His will. Amen.