“So in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” -Romans 12:5 (NIV)

Our bodies are like finely tuned machines, with each part dependant on one another. Though they are diverse in appearance and function, they work together in order to carry out the many tasks the body requires. If even one part of the body was rendered unusable, the entire body would be affected. For example, the brain can send signals to the legs to move and run, but if the legs are paralyzed or some other part of the body is preventing the legs to move, then the body will not go anywhere. Or suppose if the eyes see trouble brewing yet the mouth refuses to speak. How then will our voice be able to call out for help in that critical moment? That is why we seek treatment from doctors when something is wrong with our bodies, so that all its members will be able to work together in an effective manner.

Whether we like it or not we are all connected together in the same way as one body. Thus our attitudes and actions affect those around us. If we think that our anger and pride only affects the person that these are directed to, we are sadly mistaken for everyone will suffer in some form or another. Our selfishness and hatred can do devastating damage in our lives and just as how a spider’s web can fall apart if one thread is cut, so too will our relationships crumble. At the root of the problem is our innate sinful nature. This is what propels us to give into harmful attitudes that will only cause us to become mired in unnecessary conflict and misery. It is only when we have allowed Christ to enter our hearts that He will break the hold sin has over us so that He can begin His restorative work in our lives. When we abide in His Spirit and allow His love to shine from within us, there is no room for sin to taint our relationships with others. We will move forward together in unity as Christ propels us to love so that He may impart life to the people around us.

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.

“Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, ‘But we knew nothing about this,’ does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?” –Proverbs 24:11-12 (NIV)

As a result of the internet, we are fed with news from around the world instantly. Shocking news items pose that dilemmatic question, “what are we going to do about it?” One popular course of action has been through the website Facebook. During the 2009 Iranian protests or the recent earthquake in Japan, Facebook pages were set up dedicated to the events in order to bring awareness. People who were sympathetic to the cause had the option of pressing the “like” button and show their support. Some have criticized the practice of “liking” causes on Facebook on the basis that it really does not do anything for the people for whom these events are a tangible reality. However, while I think this is true to an extent, I also believe it is a great way for people who are limited by distance and resources to show their solidarity with people who are halfway around the world.

Yet how often are we unwilling to get involved when we have the means to do so! Perhaps it is more comfortable for us to love in theory rather than to love in action. Anyone can say that they would give of themselves in love and service regardless of the circumstances. But when the time comes to put our words to the test, we shy away and are content with loving from the sidelines. Why this hesitance? Maybe it is because we do not want to give up what we feel is rightfully ours. Our comforts, our resources, our reputations, all of these things will prevent us from practicing the love of Christ if we have turned them into idols. It is only when we have surrendered ourselves to Christ that His love will overflow from our hearts. When we have seated Him on the throne of our lives and have allowed ourselves to be guided by His Spirit within us, He will give us His love that is fearless and absent of pride. Through Him guiding us in His love, our words of compassion will not be just words, but actions backed by the desire to see God save the lost and heal 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.

“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.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is
not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily
angered,” -1 Corinthians 13:4-5 (NIV)

We live in a culture which insists about making sure that we get our rights. Nothing is wrong with that in of itself. In fact, in the face of injustice we must stand up for our basic and fundamental rights when they are being wrongfully deprived and be advocates for others when they undergo the same. Doing so is a tangible manifestation of the command Jesus gave to love one another just as He has loved us; with selfless compassion and service. However, the impulse to fight for one’s rights can often be taken to ridiculous extremes. Many bizarre lawsuit cases have mounted and been won in the name of defending one’s rights. What these cases often show is not the love of Christ, but the greed and pride that plagues human nature.

Love as what Christ practiced did not concern itself with the rights of the self. It was and is always focused on others and serving them. Christ was willing to forsake everything He had, even His own life, so that we may be freed from our slavery to our sinful nature and restored into newness of life with Him. But how many of us would say that we practice this kind of love? Though we do not like to admit it, we can point out times when our own attempts to love were motivated by self interest and wanting to get something out of our charity for ourselves. Even when we try with all sincerity to love selflessly we are quick to give into pride and we exalt our compassion as we begin to see ourselves as shining examples of how to love. It is only when we have allowed Christ to enter our hearts that we can truly love as He did. By keeping in step with His Spirit He will break us of our pride and selfishness which insists on gratifying ourselves at all costs; perfecting His love in us so that others will be drawn to Him and the life He gives.

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.

“When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, ‘Moses! Moses!’ And Moses said, ‘Here I am.’” –Exodus 3:4 (NIV)

As Moses was out tending to the sheep and going about his daily routine, he noticed an unusual sight. In fact a burning bush in which the flames did not consume the plant would definitely be worth an investigation for anyone with a basic knowledge of the laws of nature. But as Moses drew closer, he realized that he was about to enter the presence of God. Calling out Moses’ name, God was about to reveal His plan for the redemption of His people out of Egypt’s tyranny and tell Moses of his role in that plan. At this point Moses did not know this. But regardless he approached God with humility and waiting to hear what God had to say to Him. Though Moses was first apprehensive when God told him the plans He had in store for him, Moses ultimately obeyed knowing that God would be with him each step of the way.

God is always calling out to us. Through situation and circumstances He seeks to bring our attention to Him so that he may reveal to us the perfect plans He has in store for us. Yet how often do we fail to listen? Content with our own little lives we do not want to acknowledge His call and in our human arrogance we think that we know better than Him; believing that only we know the best way to live our lives. However, when we adopt such an attitude, we deprive ourselves of the blessings of walking within the will of God. Forever we will live in our small little worlds and there will come a point when the feelings of living an unfulfilled existence will consume us. But it is never too late to claim the promises of God. What He requires is only a heart that is willing to be guided by Him. When we allow Christ to enter our lives and carry out His redemptive work, He will break us of our sinful pride so that He may give us life. In Him we have the assurance that as long as we keep in step with Him, He will fulfil a plan that accomplishes His fullest for our lives; giving us hope and confidence in His faithfulness and love for us.

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.

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-of whom I am the worst.” -1 Timothy 1:15 (NIV)

In the days of the Ottoman Empire, when the Turks ruled over most of the Mediterranean and the Arab World, one of the sultans decided to invade the island of Malta. Over such a small island, the sultan was confident that he and his armies would emerge victorious. But Malta would prove to be a humiliating defeat for the sultan as the island’s defenders put up an admirable resistance. Embarrassed by his defeat, the sultan attempted to eliminate any reminder of the campaign by having the official records state that “Malta does not exist”. This very action however, instead of erasing the memory of the Malta debacle, shows the length to which the sultan was willing to go to in order to save his pride.

As humans our lack of humility seems to be innate. We do not like it when we are wrong and it causes us great discomfort to be honest with ourselves when we know that we have erred. Our pride tells us that we must always be seen in a light that glorifies ourselves and thus we make excuses for our behaviour in an attempt to justify our attitudes and actions. However, we live hypocritical lives if we think that nothing is wrong with us when we know that we are sinful. Such a contradiction will soon destroy us and we will sink further into our depravity. How then can we be saved from such a fate? Half of the answer is to come to that point where we can be honest about ourselves and with humility admit that we are sinful creatures. The other half is to acknowledge that the love of Christ is greater than our sin. He came so that by His death and resurrection we are cleansed of our sin by His blood and lifted into newness of life with Him. When we allow Christ to enter our hearts and carry out His redemptive work in our lives, we will know that though we are amongst the worst of sinners, by the grace of Christ we are forgiven once and for all. Through His enabling we will be able to walk in His righteousness; finding true freedom in Him and bringing hope to others.

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.