“When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.” –Mark 6:34 (NIV)

One of my favorite things to do while traveling is people-watching. Whether it is while taking the public transit in the city, waiting at the airport for a flight, or walking the streets of a foreign country, I am always drawn to the faces of those who I pass by. I often wonder where they are going, where they have been, and what they must be experiencing now. It is this curiosity which draws me to people and I find it both a joy and an honour when people extend the hand of friendship and we exchange our stories with each other. Yet more and more I am coming to see people as souls in need of being in relationship with God their Creator, and that has added a whole new sense of urgency to tell others of the hope which is available through Christ.

Every day we encounter many faces. Some of them we do not know and only see for a brief second before they go their separate ways. Others we know quite well. They are our family, our friends, and our colleagues. Yet are they just faces to us? Are they but mere bodies which we are forced by circumstances to interact with? It is easy to think of people in generalization, where we can nicely fit them into our pre-conceived notions. But when we see people through the eyes of God, we see them as individuals uniquely and wonderfully made with souls that are made to be in relationship with Him. This calls us to a radical love that transcends all boundaries, yet this is a love which we can never work out in ourselves because of our sinful nature. It is only when we have allowed Christ to enter our hearts and have allowed Him to free us of our sinful nature that we are able through His Spirit to see people as how He sees them, as His precious creations in need of His restorative work. With His love overflowing from within us, His Spirit will compel us to show His compassion towards others and tell them of the eternal joy of knowing Christ as Lord and Saviour.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

“Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself.” -1 Samuel 18:1 (NIV)

Moths are notorious for devouring clothing. Certain species of them are known to eat anything made out of materials such as wool or silk. Should an entire swarm of moths enter a closet stacked with clothes or a room full of textiles, they will feast with devastating results. Beautiful silk garments and intricately woven clothes of wool will become riddled with holes, if not completely eaten. Carpets and rugs of flawless design can become unravelled within minutes under the swarm’s voracious appetite. That is why we place mothballs in our clothes to prevent them from causing destruction as a result of their hunger. Producing a vapour that is lethal to moths, these mothballs do not allow any opportunity for a hungry moth to feast; thereby safeguarding the clothes and keeping them intact.

The King James Version beautifully renders 1 Samuel 18:1. Describing the friendship between Jonathan and David it states that “…the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.” When we form friendships, we have not only allowed our lives to intersect with each other, but our very souls have become tied together like how threads are woven together in a garment. That is why it is so tragic when relationships fall apart because those threads of closeness once shared between friends have been abruptly severed. Like moths, sin will destroy the very fabric of our relationships if we have allowed it to wreak havoc in our lives. The only way we can prevent sin from causing our relationships to crumble is when we have allowed the love of Christ to transform our hearts. When His Spirit comes to dwell within us and we submit ourselves to Him, He will work out His love and righteousness within us. His presence will act like mothballs for when we choose to remain in Him there can be no room for sin to rear its head; protecting our relationships from destruction so that He may use us to pour life into the people we come in contact with.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

“He who loves a quarrel loves sin; he who builds a high gate invites destruction.” –Proverbs 17:19 (NIV)

It seems to be a universal fact that little boys are fascinated with bugs. I was no exception to this rule. One day as I was playing outside on a bright summer’s day, I came across an ant colony and a small stick. As I saw the ants hard at work, my inquisitive mind asked what would happen if I placed the stick inside the hole. I grabbed the stick and plunged it down into the ant colony. Nothing happened. It must be noted that my inquisitive mind was also a mischievous one, and I thought it would be a good idea to keep ramming the stick down the hole. To my horror I found a swarm of angry ants, and quite a few with wings, pouring up out from the hole wanting to know who was destroying their home. Terrified I dropped the stick and ran, my lesson duly learnt.

While we may know that it is probably not a good idea to agitate insects, or any other wildlife for that matter, sometimes it seems that this lesson does not apply in our interactions with others. Too often we use our words and actions to provoke others and cause unnecessary arguments. Why do we do this? The answer is found deep in our flawed human nature. Our pride loves opportunities where we can bring glory to ourselves. That is why pride is often what sparks arguments, because in quarrels we have the chance to prove to others that we are somehow superior or better than them. But if such an attitude has taken root in our minds, we will only reap destruction and misery as our stubborn pride tears cherished relationships apart. Our only hope to be spared from such a fate is when we have allowed Christ to be at the centre of our lives. When His Spirit has infiltrated every area of our being and we have submitted ourselves wholly to Him, He will teach us to be humble so that His love may overflow from within us; bringing life to our relationships and healing to the broken.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

“The poor are shunned by all their relatives- how much more do their friends avoid them! Though the poor pursue them with pleading, they are nowhere to be found.” –Proverbs 19:7 (NIV)

The idea of fair-weather friends was a concept I was first introduced to in elementary school. Whenever a child has the latest toy or gadget, he was the coolest kid on the playground. Everybody wanted to be friends with him in hopes that their own prestige would be lifted up. However, this led the child to think that the attention he was receiving was true and genuine friendship. Thus, it was a sad sight to see the child’s dejected face when his so called “friends” deserted him after circumstances took away that which made him popular. Such scenes, of which even I was on the receiving end,  taught me  early that true friends stick with you regardless of your circumstances because they love you for who you are; not because of what you have or what you can do for them.

Yet sometimes it seems that we have not let go of this tragic attitude from childhood. How often do we pursue friendships only because we see something that we can gain for ourselves? While we might claim that we will stand by our friends no matter what comes their way, if selfish ambition has been the basis of our friendship then we will abandon them while they are in midst of trials. This will reveal not only how hollow our love was for them, but how crooked and shamelessly selfish we are as we trample over them by our betrayal. Perhaps we lament the destruction and misery we have caused by abandoning friends in their time of need and wonder if there is any way we can change. Our only hope is when we have allowed ourselves to be transformed by Christ. Sin has caused us to act in selfishness toward others, which is contrary to love. When we have allowed Christ’s Spirit to enter our hearts and free us from our sinful nature, He will help us see those around us through His eyes; as lost and broken souls in need of His love. By submitting ourselves in humility to Him He will cause His love and faithfulness to overflow from within our hearts so as to bring healing and hope to those who are hurting.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

“A friend loves at all times,”- Proverbs 17:17a (NIV)

The beautiful thing about friendship is that it is timeless. Even if close friends have been separated by time and distance, the love and bond between them still remains. God has blessed me with such friendships and my prayer is that I will be a good friend to the ones He has given me. But friendships can often be fragile, and it is tragic when friends part under unpleasant circumstances. When harmful attitudes such as anger, jealousy, or impatience seep into the minds of friends even the most trivial of offences can separate the strongest of bonds. The consequences of allowing these attitudes to infiltrate our minds are painful and as we look back on the memories of broken friendships we are filled with regret wondering if things could have been different if we had simply not taken the steps we took.

All of us are but humans and as such we have been tainted by sin. Due to our fallen state, it is easy for us to give into harmful and destructive attitudes. Sin tells us that we must always glorify ourselves and insist on having our way at all costs. But in reality when we place ourselves before others, we have actually bowed our knee to sin and allowed it to sever our relationship with God and with those we care about. How then can we make sure that sin does not get in the way of our relationships?  The truth is that we can do nothing about it by ourselves, but only by the power of Christ working within us. When we have allowed His Spirit to enter our hearts and seek to conform ourselves to Him in our attitudes and actions, He will carry out his restorative work in our lives. As we turn our face to Him and away from ourselves, He will train us in His love so that His love will overflow from our hearts and into the lives of others. Bearing with one another in love is something that only Christ can help us accomplish and when we choose to abide in Christ, He will order our friendships so that life may abound and hearts be turned to Him.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” –Ephesians 4:15 (NIV)

We do not like confrontation. It is messy, uncomfortable, and often creates conflicts that we would rather avoid. When faced with the destructive lifestyle or erroneous thoughts of a loved one, we may know deep down that something is amiss and want to speak up. Yet we refrain from doing so out of fear that we will create unnecessary tension and end up hurting the other person. We try to justify our silence by saying that it is an act of love; that refusing to say anything about the behaviour of the person we love is proof of our concern and sympathy for them. However, in truth it is the exact opposite. It is not an act of love to remain silent for we will simply be letting them go down a road that will bring them pain and misery.

True love will warn someone when they are going in a direction that will end with regret and despair. Such love goes beyond a simple concern for the other person’s feelings, and finds itself caring for their well-being. When driven by such love we will not cease to speak the truth to our loved ones, even if they ignore our words and find us annoying, because we do not want them to go down that path to total oblivion. However, if we try to do this on our own we will find ourselves lacking the courage to speak boldly and the wisdom to use our words well. It is only when we are enabled by Christ’s Spirit that we will find the wisdom and courage to act in love. When we have allowed Him to enter our hearts and seek with humility to abide by His Spirit, we will be careful to walk according to His leading. Guided by Him we will find that He will give us the strength and tact to boldly speak the truth in love so that those who hear may find life abundant.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

“’If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even “sinners” love those who love them.’” –Luke 6:32 (NIV)

Anyone can love those who love them. Who wouldn’t love some who is kind and considerate towards us, or who is quick to pay us a timely compliment? There are some people who are naturally charming and lovable, and it is easy for our affections to gravitate towards them. But what if that same person suddenly became an eyesore for us? Perhaps they suddenly become insensitive or uncouth. Our love for them would slowly descend into annoyance and irritation. We would become blind to their admirable qualities and all we will be able to think about is how much they anger us. However, this only proves how fragile our love is for others, prone to change and never truly constant no matte how much we may boast otherwise.

The problem with human love is that it is self-serving. When we love others out of our natural love, it is a conditional form of love. We simply love them because they make us feel good about ourselves when they treat us well out of respect and concern. True love however, is when we continue to show our affection to others even when they do nothing to be deserving of it. Few of us would be willing to show this kind of love to those who especially arouse our ire. Yet, this is the exact love which we are to imitate as children of Christ. Though He being a holy God could not tolerate we who are fallen as a result of our deliberate choice to indulge in sin, He wants to restore us so that we may have life. That is why Christ’s death and resurrection is the greatest act of love so that by His blood we are washed of our sin and made spotless in the eyes of God. When we have allowed Christ’s Spirit to enter our hearts, He will train us in how to love as He loves us; with no strings attached and a disregard for the self. Knowing that Christ loves us despite our sinfulness and will never give up on us, what right do we have to withhold love from others? It is only by abiding in His Spirit that we can truly love, so that others might find hope and healing in the love of God.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.