“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.

“And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them” Genesis 3:21 (ESV)

Adam and Eve could not have had it better. They lived in a perfect world created by the all-powerful hands of God where He lovingly provided for their every need. But when Adam and Eve disobeyed God as a result of their deliberate choice to eat of the tree which God explicitly forbade them to eat from, the closeness they once shared with God was broken. Since God is holy He cannot tolerate even the slightest act of sin and as such He expelled Adam and Eve from the garden. Yet what is beautiful of this otherwise tragic episode in human history is how God shows His unfailing love. Despite Adam and Eve’s rejection of Him, God provides them with clothing to endure the harsh realities of their new lives in a fallen world. The animal skins foreshadow what Christ has done and will do for us by Him becoming the sacrificial Lamb for us so that through His death on the Cross we are forgiven and our relationship with God restored.

The love of God is unchangeable and inherent in His very nature. He has never been the God who oscillates between the angry God of the Old Testament and the loving God of the New Testament. Through a careful reading of Scripture His unconditional love and desire to restore His precious creations to Himself is made evident from the very beginning right through to the end. The difference between human love and God’s love is that our love is limited and can be overpowered by sin, while God’s love remains constant regardless of what we may do. He knows that no human being on this Earth can achieve His standards of righteousness and thus He will never withdraw His love and grace for us. Will we choose to accept his love so that we will no longer have to be slaves to sin and its consequences? When we allow Christ to enter our lives we will be able to experience His love as He breaks us free from our sinful nature and faithfully provides for us according to His perfect will. He will perfect His love in our hearts so that it will overflow and bring hope and life to those around us.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

“without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,” -2 Timothy 3:3 (NIV)

It has been argued that revolutionaries are amongst the most loving people in the world. In some cases there does appear to be a hint of truth in that statement. So great is their love for their nation and countrymen that they will risk all that they have in the service of creating a better society for all to live in. However, because a revolutionary’s love is but mere human love, it can easily be hijacked by sin. In their zeal, a revolutionary is quick to find enemies and persecute them with ruthless brutality. Their love does not extend to those they have deemed deserving to be punished for their crimes, whether real or imagined. Thus in the past century so many innocent lives have been snuffed out by these revolutionaries who claim to love by taking justice to a revolting extreme in the name of weeding out so-called “villains”.

Justice is something that is desirable and good. God Himself is a God of justice and desires that His righteousness be upheld. Yet too often we get carried away by the cause of justice and allow ourselves to fall into sin. How often do we look down upon those guilty of heinous crimes with anger or scorn? How often do we relish the thought of them receiving the harshest of sentences? It seems that we quickly forget Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:22 that, “anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.” All of us are deserving of punishment under God’s holy standards. None of us, despite all our efforts to live moral lives can ever match God’s standards and vindicate ourselves before Him. Yet because God is a God of love He wants to redeem us so that we may not face eternal judgement, and instead partake in the joy and hope which comes from being in a relationship with Him. Through Christ’s death the penalty for our sins has been paid in full and by His resurrection we are made new in His sight. What right then do we have to withhold love and forgiveness from others when Christ Himself has forgiven us? When we have allowed His Spirit to take control of our attitudes, His love will overflow from within us, bringing healing and hope to those who desperately need it.

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.

“Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” –Luke 12:7b (NIV)

By their own merits sparrows are actually quite insignificant. They cannot boast of the size and strength of a mighty eagle for example because they are small and weak by comparison. Neither can the sparrow boast of being symbols of power and prestige because unlike the eagle, sparrows do not adorn the flags and emblems of nations. A sparrow can not even take pride in its own rarity because they are so numerous and common, and can be found in many parts of world.  Yet despite these qualities that the sparrow seemingly has going against it, God still loves and cares for them. Being His precious creations He sustains and provides for each and every one them; His eyes never leaving them for a moment in His unfailing love.

Sometimes we may feel like sparrows. Comparing ourselves to those who seem to have it all in terms of wealth and reputation, it is human tendency to become insecure. Seeing ourselves as begin merely ordinary and insignificant, we wonder if anyone cares about our joys and struggles. We long to be noticed and loved, and when we do not feel these things, loneliness and misery are the result. But the truth is no matter how small or inconsequential we feel, we are loved by the Creator of the Universe himself. We are not only God’s creations, but bearers of His image like how a child bears the imprints of his parents.  In the eyes of Christ we are worth far more than anything we can imagine and He wants to be in relationship with us so that He will fulfil the great plans He has in store for us. When we have allowed His Spirit to enter our hearts and redeem us from our sinful nature which separated us from Him, we will know what it means to rest in His love as we submit ourselves to Him. In doing this Christ will prove His love to us as He takes our lives and transforms them into testaments to His faithfulness; showing the world that no one is insignificant to Him and drawing others into the hope which only comes from knowing 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.

“Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find?”-Proverbs 20:6 (NIV)

Have you ever bought something that soon proved its faultiness? I know that I have on more than one occasion. Initially we are drawn to the advertisements for the product. Such endorsements attempt to convince us about how the product is perhaps the latest in cutting-edge technology, or has undergone tests which have proven its reliability when compared with other brands. However, when we have bought the product for ourselves and tried it out, it fails on us when we need it the most. We soon find that those assurances of its quality were nothing more than empty words and we lament over the fact that we have wasted our resources on something that would bound to shatter our expectations.  It is no wonder then that we are wary of advertising and take their messages with a grain of salt.

Humans, flawed through sin, prove to be untrustworthy more than they like to give themselves credit. They may advertise themselves as being faithful and claim to have that unfailing love which we seek. Thinking that we can place our trust in them, we now depend that they will put their words into action. Yet when we need them the most, we find that they have failed to deliver on their assurances in our critical hour. Like one who has found out the flaws in a product advertised to be flawless, we mourn over the fact that we have been deceived and wonder if there is anyone out there who is steadfast in his love. Before we give into despair, the truth is that there is such a person. Christ has shown His unfailing love for us through His death on the cross for our sins and assures us that He will always remain faithful when we call upon Him. He is God and thus He is perfect in His love and faithfulness. When we have allowed Christ’s Spirit to reign in our hearts and surrender every area of our lives to Him, we will experience His love and be strengthened in Him as He uses our lives to prove that His promise to be faithful to us are more than just words. Allowing His Spirit to perfect his restorative work in us, He will train us to act in perfect love and steadfastness. Through Him we will be refreshing to others and pour life into them; drawing those around us to the hope which is only available through Christ.

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.

“I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help. I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness from the great assembly.” –Psalm 40:10 (NIV)

Does a volcano ever hold back when it erupts? We would be hard-pressed to convince ourselves that it does. I have seen footage of major volcanic eruptions and I do not believe it to be a stretch to say that volcanoes are not of the self-conscious sort. On the contrary, a volcano is not afraid to allow the magma it has stored beneath its rocky surface to be expelled into the sky and into the surrounding area. It does not say to itself that perhaps it should hold back a little and practice some self-control. Rather, it allows its lava to overflow from within and to freely pour itself over the landscape. Granted a volcanic eruption is devastating and never pleasant. But there is much to learn from its boldness.

We as humans are so unlike volcanoes. Too often we keep things to ourselves and shy away from expressing what God has done and is doing in our lives. Perhaps we fear of becoming an eyesore to others if we show His love and tell of his righteousness, and thus we resign ourselves to going with the crowd; making sure that no one knows of the work which Christ is doing within us. But when we do this, we deprive ourselves of the chance to grow in our faith and see God at work in the lives of others. When we have allowed Christ to enter our hearts and seek to abide with Him, He will cause His love and righteousness to overflow from within us. As Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:7 “…God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love…”  His Spirit will embolden us to show His love to others, tell them of His righteousness with our lives, and speak of His faithfulness to us. Unlike a volcano, the overflow that will come from within us when we allow Christ’s Spirit to carry out His work will not destroy. Instead, it will only bring healing and life to all as He is made manifest in our words and actions.

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.

“Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,” –Matthew 24:12 (NIV)

Frostbite is not a pleasant thing to have. It occurs when one has had prolonged exposure to subzero temperatures without adequate protection. As a result of this exposure to the cold, the blood vessels in the body begin to constrict; preventing the heart from pumping blood to the exposed areas. If not treated in time the affected areas can develop gangrene or even fall off as the skin tissue deteriorates. Frostbite has claimed the fingers, toes, and even limbs of soldiers fighting in freezing temperatures, scientists working in the frigid polar regions of the globe, and ordinary people who simply did not prepare for the cold. That is why we dress warmly before going out into winter’s chill; so that we are protected from the consequences of frostbite.

Sin is like frostbite to our souls. It slowly creeps into our being and in the process causes love to be cut off from our lives. While it may seem tantalizing at first, Satan uses sin to deceive us into thinking that bringing glory and pleasure to ourselves is the highest good. However, while we are being deceived, our wickedness will enslave us to destructive habits which will only bring pain and misery to ourselves and to others. Just as how frostbite causes limbs to fall off, sin will make sure that love is absent from our hearts as it directs us to the worship of ourselves. But as we see ourselves crumbling piece by piece through sin’s vicious work, we wonder if there is any way we can regain what was lost. Yet the great assurance is that there is healing and restoration through Christ. When we have allowed Him to enter our hearts and carry out His redemptive work in our lives, He will purge evil from our lives and clothe us in His righteousness. Through His death His blood has washed of our sin and through His resurrection we are given a new nature marked by His love. By being clothed with His Spirit and keeping in step with Him, sin will not gain a foothold and will thereby allow His love to shine brightly for all to see.

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.