Beauty and the Beast....Within!

I was in Delhi last week and literally staggered with the culture shock that hit me like a hard slap in the face. This part of India didn't look anything like India! I was instead forcefully reminded of Hollywood....not the movie industry, but the people. I've never been to Hollywood myself, but I've read more than enough to know that this was the city of beautiful people. Where everyone does their best to look their best, however many nips and tucks and enhancements it takes. In Hollywood, it's just not acceptable to be old, fat, ugly or simply ordinary. People would rather die than appear unpresentable or just their plain old selves. Delhi seems to have taken a leaf out of Hollywood's book, aping the West page for page. Modesty replaced by Vanity. Spirituality ousted by Fashion.

It was the women especially that highlighted this new face of India. Everywhere I saw hemlines that rose and necklines that dipped in jaw-dropping ways! I was ready to lose it though when I spied one young lady who couldn't have been more than fourteen, and whose brassiere top peeped over a plunging neckline! Luckily for her, I'm not old enough to be her mother or she'd have been over my knee in no time getting the spanking of her life!

If I were to put it nicely, I would say the ladies there were all so well groomed, paying particular attention to their skin, hair, faces, figures, clothes and makeup and so perfectly accessorised with matching handbags, shoes and jewellery. But I'm not really all that nice am I? So putting it in my usual caustic way, I'd simply say they all looked like identical plasticky Barbie dolls to me! Is that a snigger I hear? Ahhh...you think I'm jealous? Well I spoke to some of the men there and wasn't surprised to hear almost similar comments from all of them..."Oh Delhi women are all just show...so concerned about style and fashion...so shallow and pretentious". Now tell me again why I would be jealous?

Atleast the magazines there seem to have understood their target audience perfectly. I grabbed a local edition of a well-known women's magazine there and was introduced to pages and pages of ads on cosmetics, slimming pills, spas, designer clothing, columns for anorexic/bulimic women, newly developed pheromone perfumes (believe it!), advice on how to look better than Aishwarya Rai etc. But the funniest section was that which showcased letters from female readers with beauty worries.

These 'poor women' longed for 'chiselled features' in the place of cute chubby faces. Some worried that they weren't born with the all-essential dimple and (dig this!) there were even some who were desperate to augment their rears or perish! Poor poor things...how can you expect a woman to go on living with the misery of an eyebrow hair that's a millimetre longer than the rest? Really, that's so important isn't it in a world that's only going to hell because of poverty, war, violence and sickness? Hey don't get me wrong. It's good for a woman to take an interest in her body and keep herself well groomed. But for heaven's sake, ain't pumping in botox for poutier lips or silicon for a heavier bust size a bit too much?

1 Peter 3:3-5 says, "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful." And Paul says in 1Timothy 2:9-10, "I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God." I wonder what the apostles Peter and Paul would say if they ever went to Delhi or Hollywood though. They probably might never recover from the shock, hee hee!

The Word of God is clear in its teaching. The careful outlining of the lashes, the meticulous darkening of the eyes, the glossy painting of the lips, the artful colouring of the cheeks, the purposeful donning of clothes in a manner that reveals more than it covers, the attentively cultivated image of perfection....all these may cause sharp intakes of breath in the human admirer but God wouldn't even blink twice at such a conscientiously manicured face.

His idea of beauty is so far removed from ours for He looks directly into the heart. He seeks selfless hands calloused with helping others constantly, tired feet cracked with travelling miles out of the way for someone else, eyes reddened with tears for a neighbour's pain and lips worn with speaking words of comfort to those who need it. Every laugh line that came from making a saddened heart smile and every wrinkle that came from worrying for a friend's sake are precious in the Lord's sight. To Him, that is true beauty...the beauty of the soul inside the shell. Don't waste your time then on superficiality 'cos honestly, God doesn't care whether or not you permed your hair lately.

The poet Kahlil Gibran certainly knew his stuff when he said, "Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart". Proverbs 31:10-31 describes The Wife Of Noble Character and can be taken as a Biblical standard for all women, married or not. Now she, is a woman with a light in her heart....a light called God. A popular pop song goes, 'Dont'cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me? Dont'cha wish your girlfriend was freak like me....." Seriously, don't. Wish she was like the woman of noble character though, for "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." (Proverbs 31:30)

1 Samuel 16:7 - "But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

When Heaven is Silent....

I'm lying in bed, staring at the ceiling wondering how to deal with life. So many things seem to be going wrong. Friends are moving on with their lives, living, loving, changing, even flourishing. The world itself moves at a blurred and frantic pace all around me. But my life seems to have come to a grinding halt. Work, friends, home....none of these feel satisfying, my dreams lie unfulfilled and my need to be loved is cast aside unattended like a hungry, wailing baby. The universe as I know it, is crashing around me and I can't think of a single person to turn to for comfort. Which of my best friends would understand how it feels to be in my shoes? Which buddy, pal or mate would know the right words to take my pain away? I'm feeling drained and.......something else......I think it's hopelessness. It's raining outside and a single tear rolls down my cheek.

I suddenly remember....what about God then? Talking to Him always helps doesn't it? I feel better just at the thought. So my head bows down, my soul looks up to heaven and I cry out to Him from the depths of my heart. My prayer is simple...I know I don't need to say anymore. "Lord, can you hear my heartcry from where you are? I'm at my lowest right now....please say something, I need you so much." This said, I eagerly await a reply. His still small voice, the usual calming effect, the peace that fills my heart in the aftermath....I await these. Realisation dawns soon and I understand no comfort is forthcoming. Heaven itself is strangely silent.

I am puzzled at first, bewildered at best. How can this be? Did He speak and did I miss it? Is He delaying a reply? Should I wait longer? But as the hours roll by, I realise that the usual comfort He has always afforded me is not coming my way this time. The single tear swells to a flood and I curl myself into my pillow shaking with my personal pain. This was most unfair. Didn't God know He's my only refuge, my only hiding place? How could He desert me when I need Him the most? How can heaven's doors remain closed when a needy heart is knocking? Does God care? Does He truly love me? If yes, then why is He silent? Is He as unreliable as humans too? Is He even there for real? A thousand questions arise in my heart simultaneously, a little like startled birds taking flight.

If you're nodding and saying to yourself, "Been there, done that", then it's you I'm talking to, reader. These are the times when our faith is shaken the most.....the times that challenge our belief that He exists and that He cares.....the times when we are ashamed to discuss or admit our unbelief and doubt in a living, caring God to even close friends. How many times we have all travelled there.

What is the truth then? Does God exist? Does He care? And why is He silent when you are hurting? I'm not even discussing the first question here actually. If we choose to measure God's existence by His responses every time, then understand that He feels no compulsion to prove His existence to us. About His care....well you can hardly accuse a God who gave His only begotten Son to die on the cross for our salvation, of not caring! So why then is He silent when you are teetering on the brink of the precipices of hopelessness and frustration?

I would like to draw the answer to this maddening question from a shadowed, moonlit olive garden, 2000 years ago. The Garden of Gethsemane....where Jesus prayed the night before He was crucified. Come with me reader, let us tiptoe in on the scene. The Lord Jesus is parting from His beloved disciples. "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death" He confides, "stay here, and keep watch" (Mark 14:34). They nod dutifully, but minutes after He leaves, their eyes droop and they nod off to sleep. Fine friends indeed! But let us not tarry here. Let us follow Jesus through the undergrowth, as He walks a stone's throw away from them, kneels in a shadowy recess praying His heart out. We can see His lips move, and if we move nearer, we can hear him say, "Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." (Mark 14:35)

It is obvious He is in great emotional and spiritual distress as He contemplates the terrible death that awaits Him the next day. He knows it is His destiny, the awful culmination of His Father's grand salvation plan. He struggles to accept so much pain, so much unfair punishment. His human self tries to reconcile why someone as sinless and pure as He, must be the sacrifice to redeem an ungrateful and undeserving world. Watch with me reader as the Lord of the Universe sweats blood in His anguish and grief. Perhaps His friends can comfort Him. He rises and goes to them, only to find that they sleep without a care in the world. Thrice He returns, hoping atleast one would be awake, praying with Him and for Him. Thrice, He is let down.

Deeply disappointed, He return to His alcove, knowing this time there is not one human He can rely on. Perhaps His Father would comfort Him. He prays again the same prayer while we watch with bated breath, hoping for an astonishing display of thunder and lightning and divine intervention in this drama that is fast escalating towards its horrifying end on Golgotha's hilltop. Minutes pass and we slowly realise it is not to be. The same Father who proudly and dramatically declared Jesus "His son whom He loved and with whom He was well pleased" (Matthew 3:13-17) before large crowds at Jesus' baptism in the Jordan river, is now ominously quiet. The heavens themselves are deafening in their silence.

And yet, Jesus faltered not. The next day on the cross He was to cry out that heartbreaking cry of agony, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani" ("My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" - Mark 15:33-34) . Hanging on the cross, his body rent in tremendous physical agony, Jesus watched in unparalelled spiritual agony as His beloved and holy Father, finding Him repulsive on account of all the world's sin that He now bore on His innocent shoulders, turned away from Him. And Jesus was left alone in an unforgiving world that cruicified its King. And yet, Jesus faltered not. He submitted Himself to His destiny, obedient even unto death on the cross. Not for a moment did He doubt that His Father in spite of the silence, loved Him above all things. It is no wonder then that on the third day, Jesus rose again from the dead.

When God is silent, He is not shutting Himself away from you. He is merely allowing you to seek Him in truth and depth. He waits for your response. Will you be faithful like Jesus, knowing that the sun is just behind a cloud and will reappear at any moment? Or is your faith dependant on what benefits you derive from God? We don't doubt the existence of the sun just because day turns to night. Why then would we doubt His love for us just because He elects to hold His peace as is His sovereign choice? Everyday He speaks to us in myriad wonderful ways, but sunk in our mundane lives, we barely notice. However when He fails to deliver the expected feel-good pep speech, He becomes an indifferent God? Very unreasonable, very stupid and very human.

From the lives of great patriarchs in the Bible such as Abraham, Moses, David and Elijah, we see that for a period, God allows us to struggle through on our own, plowing our way through acres of doubt, always pointing our compasses only to the cross. And though it looks like the Lord believes that sometime or the other, saints must walk alone, He's always around the corner waiting to pick us up when we fall! But even if He doesn't, we are called to simply get up and plod on in our Christian walk.

So the next time the heavens fall silent and the Lord seems faraway, remember the example of one Man whose unwavering purpose and faith in His God, changed the history of mankind forever. Remember....Gethsemane!

Psalm 22:1-5 - "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning. O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer; And by night, but I have no rest. Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel. In You our fathers trusted; They trusted and You delivered them. To You they cried out and were delivered; In You they trusted and were not disappointed.

Who am I?

Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth,
Would care to know my name,
Would care to feel my hurt,
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star,
Would choose to light the way,
For my ever wandering heart.

Not because of who I am,
But because of what You've done,
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who You are.

I am a flower quickly fading ,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind,
Still You hear me when I'm calling Lord,
You catch me when I'm falling,
And You've told me who I am,
I am Yours, I am Yours.

Who Am I, that the eyes that see my sin,
Would look on me with love and watch me rise again,
Who Am I, that the voice that calmed the sea,
Would call out through the rain,
And calm the storm in me.

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling Lord,
You catch me when I'm falling,
And You've told me who I am,
I am Yours, I am Yours.

Whom shall I fear, Whom shall I fear,
'Cause I am Yours, I am Yours.

I was listening to this beautiful song by 'Casting Crowns' as I worked at office and couldn't help immediately posting this article. My heart brims over with love for this God who is so terribly powerful, so awesomely holy and so perfectly beautiful....and who will still stoop down to love me in all my stained sinfulness and incorrigibly flawed imperfections.

In Him I find my identity....I am His, completely undeserving, but by His amazing Grace forever His. For from the minute He died on the cross, none is able to separate me from the love of Christ!

Casting Crowns has said it all so beautifully, what more can I say? Just this.....with a full and willing heart, I love you Lord.

Our God is an Awesome God.....

A couple of weeks ago, while studying the Book of Revelation, my youth class and I came to a description of 'One like the Son of Man' (Rev 1:12-16) who was 'dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.'

I encouraged the class to visualise this figure and all was still as each one struggled to fit this image into his/her own imaginative capabilities. Then the silence was broken when one young man shuddered and exclaimed, "It's scary!". I smiled at this outburst and hastened to assure him that God wasn't scary and that the correct word he was looking for was 'awesome' , when I checked myself.

This reminded me of the song, 'Our God is an Awesome God'. How many times have I sung it, how many times absentmindedly hummed it, taught it, sung it in parts, combined it with another song and explored every musical variation possible......I wonder though, how many times I really realised what I was singing about.'Awesome!' is now an essential part of teen jargon and can mean anything from 'cool' to 'great' to 'wonderful', simply implying that the object being described is impressive. But used in the traditional sense, the word takes on an entirely different meaning. 'Awe' then becomes, 'an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful, or the like'.....and this is the meaning I ought to be implying everytime I use it to refer to my God. Why?

Because.....this is the God that created order out of chaos and everything out of nothing. This is He who made the atom and the universe, holding each in the palm of His hand. This is the God that set the earth on its delicate balance, breathing life into all that lives today. This is He that was the Desert God Yaweh, Israels' lover Jehovah and the great I AM who lives yesterday, today and forever. This is He who manifested Himself as fire by night and cloud by day, He who drowned the creators of man's mightiest effort, the pyramids, in the Red Sea. This is He who led Israel against mighty nations and bade the sun stand still. This is He who lifted David to slay a giant with a slingshot and Samson, 10,000 with an ass's jawbone. This is He who came as a humble carpenter's baby, bringing healing into the lives of multitudes. This is He who touched lives with miracles and beat Satan forever on the cross. This is He who raised Peter from fisherman to Rock and Paul from murderer to Chief Apostle. This is He for whom many laid down their lives joyfully and without question. This is He whose Holy Spirit is with us today, comforting, counselling, strengthening us to stand again every time we fall. Because...THIS is the God we're talking about!

How can He not be reverenced? How can we not fear His holy name? How can we reduce Him to a mushy bearded man seated amongst sheep, children and daffodils, who will forever extend mercy and grace and never just penalty? More crudely, how can we take God for an indulgent old forgiving fool?

Without beating around bushes, the terrible truth is this: He who is Love, is also Justice. To not express the Holiness my Lord commands in my life today, especially when I know whom it is that I worship, is to willingly call down divine wrath on my head and life. For when Jesus comes again, it will not be as Pascal Lamb, but as Righteous Judge. Fear the Lord then O ye nations, bend down before Him in holy reverence. Wrap yourself daily with the armour of God and bind His commandments around your heart. Worship Him in spirit and truth and be not contemptuous of His holy Word.

Remember Hebrews 12:28-29: 'Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire'.

Amen.

Eeeeeeeek - ne!

Are you a pimply kinda person? The eeeewwww kinda guy/gal that breaks out into shiny, yellow, ready-to-pop pimples at the slightest reason? Well, I'm not! I remember sailing through high school, college and my twenties, with clear, dew-fresh skin and a smooth, lovely complexion while my friends battled it out with zits, whiteheads, blackheads, pits, scars, and every other teenage skin affliction from hell! Me? I waltzed around without a single tube of medicinal cream in my pocket. Naturally beautiful skin was God's gift to me and I must say I took every advantage of it!

I'm 30 now, well past the pimple-horror years...or so I thought, until I woke up a month ago to discover that overnight, my blemish-free skin had mutineed! I had suddenly been catapulted into acne-land....that dark, terrible place where your face suddenly decides to break out into red, pus-filled painful, itchy, highly visible bumps for God-knows-what-reason! Yeah, I know you think it's disgusting. I would too, if the face in question weren't mine!

So I have a few pimples, what's the big deal? Since it's virtually impossible for those fortunate few (nnnnggggghhhhh) who have never experienced acne, to even begin to understand how it feels (to be standing at the edge of reason watching your self-esteem plummeting to an early and dastardly death), I'll tell you myself what the big deal is!

This is the time when all those wretches you so jauntily frisked by, as they were slouching around with a face full of eruptions, will break a new wine cask and rejoice! This is the time when all the pimply guys you refused to date, will give thanksgiving sacrifices and go "Ha!" in your (zitty) face!

Think I'm exaggerating? Dig this - the majority of human life around me these last few weeks, seems positively gleeful at the sight of my poor, scarred cheeks! Some reveal their secret identities as super-acne specialists and prescribe everything from curdled milk to bat's blood! Some others gaze at me with their best funeral expression and somberly shake their wise heads, while the rest simply point and whisper. And of course, there's the ocassional jerk who will insist everytime he sees me that I might as well get used to it, 'cos my acne ain't going anyplace anytime soon!

What I'd really like to do is to throw myself a screaming fit, yelling, kicking, biting and pulling hair. But I'm supposed to be grown-up see? So I smile, tell them it looks like it's gonna rain today and beat a hasty exit.Yup, my life's not easy...not now.

The hardest part yet is living with myself. Vanity crushed, and illusions of perfect skin shattered, I don't have to tell you what kinda shambles my confidence is in. I find myself yelping at the sight of the mildest reflective surface, gnashing my teeth around beautiful people and living my life, flitting from shadow to shadow. Oh, and of course, my social life is non-existant. How could I let anybody see those ugly pustules decorating my face like Christmas lights?

But like it or not, there is somebody who sees my face no matter where I hide it. Check out what the Word of God tells me in Psalm 139: "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. "

Eeeek! That means the Lord sees my face at all times regardless of whether I've even washed it or not! But wait, no need to head for the trees yet. For just a couple of verses away in the same chapter, are these comforting words: "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made". I know what that means! It means God thinks I'm perfectly created, pretty in his eyes, pimples and all! What further endorsement do I need? If God thinks I'm easy on the eyes, then that's that....and sucks to anybody else who disagrees!

My acne is still there, but I've learnt to handle it differently these days. Every meanie who spitefully draws attention to my condition, is simply referred heavenwards. Then I sit back and cheer while the Lord Himself defends me. After all, I'm His masterpiece and a few odd pimples here and there aren't going to change that!

Hair Care

How attached are you to your hair? Whoa, wait, hang on now....before you start discussing your hair loss problems with me, here’s a spot of clarification.....what I meant was, just how much do you love your hair? If I should hazard a guess, I’d say a whole lot! Well, atleast I do.
I’m blessed with thick dark hair and even as a child, I have loved my hair with all my heart. While all the princesses in my fairy tale books (including the very memorable Rapunzel) had looooooooooong, flowy locks, it was the bane of my young life that my mom didn’t seem to see things the same way. No long hair for princes to climb over for her. As far as she was concerned, long hair meant more washing, scrubbing and combing. So every month (with monotonous regularity because my hair grew like the dickens), I’d be dragged off, heels digging into the dust.......to the barber’s saloon.

No, don't re-read that....it was the barber's saloon alright, not a beauty parlour, but the barber’s saloon! My parents are a very practical couple and they didn’t see why a 7-year old had to be dragged all the way to a beauty parlour in the city when the chopping can happen just as efficiently in the friendly barber’s parlour just next door. Ok, so I wasn’t grooming to win any local beauty competitions, but still, a barber’s parlour? You guys may not think it’s such a big deal….but I’m the one that had to sit on a hard wooden seat every month and watch my lovely locks getting pruned off me like a lamb before the shearers!

And inevitably, I would return after every haircut with a jubilant father, visibly relaxed at escorting back a quiet and withdrawn child who on the way to the torture chambers had been a tornado of teeth and feet, biting, dragging and kicking all the way! And beside this victorious man would walk a solitary tearful little figure – me, drooping, wilted, staring watery-eyed at a tiny fist clutching little clumps of my massacred hair that I’d surreptitiously managed to salvage from the barber’s chair!! Yeah people, I loved my hair that much! Don’t feel too sorry for me though, ‘cos I invariably got my revenge. Now my mom wants me to have long, plaited braided hair like a traditional Tamil girl and what do I have? Shoulder-length layered cut! Hee hee!

By this time, you probably have a lifted eyebrow and a “And your point is?” look on your face. Ok then, here’s my point. Sure, I loved my hair enough to take home the remnants, but my grief lasted only a few fleeting minutes. An enticing lollipop from my mom’s mysterious candy cupboard would have had me forgetting my barber shop woes in seconds….after all, it was only hair (Tamil readers, you’ll probably get my gist!) and mine grew like someone fed it Super-Gro anyways! But the Word of God says that the Lord considers even this most superficial part of me, something precious. He cares so much about my hair that He keeps daily count - knows just how many new hairs grow and how many we lose on a daily basis! Now isn’t that awesome? I mean, like why would anyone really bother? But He does bother! Anything that has anything to do with me is His concern, however unimportant it may seem to the rest of the world.

Mothers are known for being hawk-eyed and fiercely protective. They know exactly when baby has popped a stone into his mouth and they know exactly where to hunt for the lost pacifier, stuffed animal or shoe. But even they couldn’t stand up to the attention you and I get from God! He’s constantly watching us as we trudge through life trying to do things our way (consequently messing them up), ever ready to come to our rescue even when we push Him away, planning out a future that we usually toss in the bin and simply seeking our hearts with a yearning to feel His love reciprocated!

Look at it this way people. Here we are worrying about everything from dandruff to death while God’s working quietly, calmly, unruffled and at His own pace. From the top of your head to the tip of your toes, He’s got it ALL covered! So let your hair loose (pun intended) and know that you’re loved….more than you can ever comprehend….yeah, even those of you going bald right now….it’s ok…atleast you’re making it easier for the Lord to keep count!

Matthew 10:30 - And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Sex: God's Gift Or Mankind's Curse?

For those of you who scrambled down here in a tearing hurry because you saw the word ‘sex’ in the title, terribly sorry, but I’ve got nothing titillating to say. This is a rather preachy piece and I’m not apologizing for any lusty sentiments I may be treading underfoot because I believe that (1) my opinions are based on the Word of God (2) the Word of God is always right and (3) this is my blog and I’m darn well gonna say whatever I want to, on it! Don’t fret reader. You can always go back to your own blog and crib about the injustice of it all….

From ages past, sex has been a fascinating topic to discuss, debate, opine and generally just roll around the tongue. It was a mysterious act, shrouded in intrigue, taboo and darkness. Granted that open discussions on sex have blossomed in the 21st century, but that I would think is more out of fear – fear of STD, VD and the dreaded HIV. Over the centuries, culture, fashion, lifestyle and popular opinion have tossed their opinions of sexuality around, swinging from one extreme to the other. While upto the 20th century sex was frowned upon as a healthy topic of discussion, the 1960’s saw the era of the flower children and free love became cheaper than a lemon.

What is sex really? A gift from God or a curse on mankind? Diplomatic people would say a little bit of both. I say it depends on how you use it. While some people completely dedicate their entire lives to the exploration and celebration of the same, there are others who shush you and frown at the mere mention of the word. After all wasn’t it this dirty thing that brought AIDS into the world? I beg to disagree here. It is WE dirty things that brought AIDS into the world!

The Word of God at first glance seems to indicate that God primarily meant sex for procreation and not recreation. But then, think about it. If that was true, he might have just had us all laying eggs or something. I mean, there is no doubt that sex is an activity that is pleasing and acceptable to human beings. The human body is engineered in myriad exquisite ways to enhance sexual pleasure and sweep the participants to heights of ecstasy. How could it be then that God didn’t mean man to enjoy it? Of course He did.

But God, being the model for all earthly fathers, also laid down a few rules here. “Play by my rules”, He said “and all will be well with you”. Pretty simple rules really. Here’s my idea of how God would put it:

• "You’ve got one body, one heart, one soul….whaddya need more than one partner for, you greedy pig?"
• "Look human, I can’t make this clearer- same sex intercourse is disgusting…so get that'straight'!" (pun intended)
• "And no, you can’t do it with your family members either…why do you insist on making me puke?"
• "If you use my gift as a tool of violence or power one more time, I’m coming down there and then it won’t be pleasant!"
• "Just what is your problem with waiting till you’re married? Afraid every single member of the opposite sex will be raptured before that?
• "You need your neighbour’s partner like you need a bullet in the head…. what’s wrong with you people?"

I often imagine just how frustrated God must have felt at the way mankind hearkened to the Prince of the World and twisted and perverted what ought to have been a glorious gift to be indulged in with joyous abandon within the confines of holy matrimony, into a base instinct, a dirty thing to be done in the dark and sniggered at in daylight. Love, quickly replaced by lust.

Take pre-marital sex for instance. In today’s world it’s a done thing. If you’re still a virgin, it signals that you’re probably a dork with stunted social skills! The secular world sees sexual promiscuity as freedom…God sees it as sin. Yeah, some people condemn it too…for all the wrong reasons. Unwanted pregnancies, danger of STD, breakdown of sexual and emotional health – all very real undesirables, but there’s a bigger reason to wait. It’s called GOD.

If Christ is truly Lord of your life, then wait. Wait for the one He’s appointed for you. Wait for God to okay when and how you become sexually active. Wait for Him to bless the union and the experience will be positive and uplifting. Without Christ at the centre, sexual experiences can become frightening, perverted, repulsive, painful and even traumatic….all leading to guilt, fear, sickness of mind and body, obsession, psychological damage and more importantly the foundation for a barrier between you and your heavenly Father.

God gave us the amazing gift of sexuality to use wisely and relish, the way it was originally meant to be relished. A pure mind turned to Him, a consciousness submitted completely to His control, a heart that yearns to please Him will all help you say “no” at the right time. Look to Him for understanding and He will not refuse it to you (James 1:5) and be careful reader…tread soft ....do not awaken love before it so desires (Song of Solomon 2:7)....

God has a funny bone too!

An explorer in the deepest Amazon suddenly finds himself surrounded by a blood-thirsty group of natives. Upon surveying the situation, he says quietly to himself "Oh God, I'm screwed!!!" Suddenly, there is a ray of light from heaven and a voice booms out: "No, you are NOT screwed. Pick up that stone at your feet and bash in the head of the chief standing in front of you." So the explorer picks up the stone and proceeds to bash the living heck out of the chief. As he stands above the lifeless body, breathing heavily and surrounded by 100 natives with a look of shock on their faces, God’s voice booms out again: "Okay… NOW you're screwed."

Had a healthy laugh? Good. Its difficult to imagine God giving such instructions, but that sure was funny wasn’t it? In my opinion, humour is one of God’s greatest gifts to mankind. I don’t think he wanted a man who frowned or deadpanned all the time. He animated our features by teaching us to smile and delighted our souls with the sound of laughter. But He also understood that smiles and laughter would be become mechanical activities unless we had a reason for them…I think that’s when he decided to give us His divine gift of a sense of humour!

Humour is certainly divine, there’s no doubt about it. The Word of God itself is filled with subtle humour. It may not have you rolling in the aisles, but look hard and it’ll certainly tickle your funny bone. Take Jonah for instance. Has there ever been a funnier prophet? I mean the way he scrambles in one direction when God beckons to the other is worthy of being classified as slapstick comedy! He finally decides to play along and goes ahead and makes all these dramatic predictions of brimstone and fire raining down in divine judgement on the city of Niniveh. And then those silly people go and repent and our just and fair God forgives them! What an ass Jonah must have felt! And imagine the comical look on his face when his precious creeper wilted, leaving him frying in the hot Mediterranean sun!! Oh man, God’s a funny guy alright!

Clean humour never hurt anybody and can be used as an instrument of adoration and worship when directed well. I mean, who doesn’t like a strong sermon peppered with funny but meaningful anecdotes? Jesus Himself told parables…most of them satirical or even funny pertaining to the standard of humour in those days. Remember the time when the Pharisees tried to trap Him with the taxation controversy? Jesus deftly sides-steps them with a ‘Render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God, what belongs to God’. Then there was this other time when He gently explains how difficult it is for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of heaven – “Like a camel passing through the eye of a needle” – a ridiculous picture if you actually imagined it! Sharp-witted guy, Jesus had to be!

John 11.35 is something people dwell on over and over again – ‘Jesus wept’. But consider this. This was a gentle man, who played with children, spent lots of time with friends and common people in pastures, mountainsides and lakesides, made merry with the poor, the sick and the shunned, inviting the displeasure of the rich, the religious and the powerful…..surely, he must have laughed too….sometimes in derision, sometimes in scorn and sometimes, in pure, unbridled mirth. My take is that the Bible didn’t record His laughter because with Jesus, mirth and rejoicing were an everyday occurrence while His tears were highlighted because that’s the only time it ever happened with Him! The best argument of all however that drives home to me that God has a sense of humour for sure, is from life itself – how else do you explain Murphy’s Laws people???

In Philippians, Paul exhorts us to ‘Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice!’. Why not through humour then? A well-told joke, sharp and ready wit, a gentle satirical nip can chase the gloom away and rejuvenate us to keep living the kind of joyous Christian existence that our Lord expects from us. So what are you waiting for? Let the miracle of humour be born in you again and may silver peals of laughter ring out the birth tidings!

A Walk with God…..

An unspoiled beach…… blue-green breakers weaving their way to the shore ……….dolphins prancing around in the water….. …..palm fronds swaying gently in the light breeze…..golden sunshine dappling the shadows………a pleasant salty smell in the air …….seagulls squawking in the distance…….little bits of shell glinting in the warm golden sands…..all creation at peace and in harmony………..

Sounds like paradise huh? Such must have been the scene when Adam walked with God in the freshly created, lush and beautiful Garden of Eden.

The Word of God says the Creator God actually walked in Eden in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8). Imagine that! God Himself came all the way down here to enjoy a garden that must have been nothing compared to the marvellous architecture of heaven. I suspect that what the Lord came to enjoy was not so much Eden as Man himself!

The loving Father God who had created so many intricate designs, wonders of engineering, physics, chemistry and biology, living marvels in flora and fauna, had set his heart fully on only one of all His creations – Man……he that was born of clay …the spitting image of God and breathing within him, the breath of God……..Adam – the only one of his kind, born without a bellybutton!

God must have been very absorbed in the first human being, Much like a proud parent who points to a picture and asks the child to name it, the Lord brought to him all the animals that he had created and left it to Man to give them whatever name he wished….and it pleased the Lord to do this. He taught Adam to work the land and contribute in a positive way to the earth’s flora and natural resources. I like to think of the scene where God and Adam went fly fishing the very first time. They must have had fun!

God gave Adam the freedom to eat from all trees in the garden but one. He who gave his precious baby the whole earth, withheld this one thing from him because He knew Adam wasn’t equipped in any way to handle the consequences of discerning good and evil. Like most parents, He wanted His child to be innocent forever – a kind ambition that was not to be.

He gave Adam a wife for a helpmate and friend and the holy union of man and wife did not change the sweet communion that He shared with them in any way. If anything, I only believe it must have been strengthened even more. Now God had two people to love - a fragile human Man and his even more fragile wife! God must felt the protective, fierce rush of love that parents feel (watching their children at times) everytime he saw Adam and Eve frolicking with the innocence and naivety of children. In His heart, He must have had great dreams for them….dreams of perpetual happiness that would follow them all their immortal lives!

But then again, Man had free will and he had to spoil it all. One act of disobedience, one moment of betrayal and all was lost. God’s heart must have been wracked with pain when He saw what His children had done – they had destroyed themselves. Their walk with God was over.

But despair not reader, the story doesn’t end there…….because Christ died for us on the cross, today, we have a renewed opportunity to resurrect that deep and loving fellowship with God. In each of us, He sees Adam His firstborn and his love for Man is as passionate and committed as ever. He’s willing to let mankind take a U-turn from the road to destruction and extends to us that same friendship and companionship that made Eden such a blessed place. He’s reaching out today hoping you’ll respond….will you accept the invitation, to walk one more time with the King of Kings?

Footprints in the sea....

One of my favourite verses from the Bible is from the Book of Psalms, Chapter 77, verse 19. The NIV version reads thus: ‘Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen’.

At first glance it seems an ordinary verse, nothing wonderful about it - a prayer for help, midway through which, the psalmist changes his tune. “I will remember the deeds of the Lord”, he says, “Yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago”. He derives strength and confidence from the Lord’s mighty works in the past while he waits for his prayer to be heard.

What follows is an account of the crossing of the Red Sea by the Hebrews in a terrible situation from which no doubt originated the expression, ‘between the devil and the deep sea’. The children of Israel under the leadership of Moses and the command of God, chose the deep, deep sea. And what happened next was history.

Imagine this: Quaking, trembling Israelites dragging their horses and carts and donkeys and fowls, children wailing, women wondering if Moses was mad, old people wishing they could die peacefully back in Egypt rather than drown in the sea, Moses trembling himself for he knew he could trust God and yet……command his people to walk into the sea? What was he doing? They stall, push each other, cry, steel themselves, place gingery feet into the water and then slowly trudge into what they are sure is their doom. A few feet into the water, a miracle, a miracle…..as they move deeper, the sea parts in two!

Two fearsome walls of liquid hem them in on either side, defying all rules of physics and gravity! No creatures of the deep get to them, no rush of water strangles their oxygen supply. An awesome silence must have prevailed. Even as they crossed, they must have doubted….especially when they were right in the middle. What if the waters came crashing down now? There would be no escape….more crushing fear….a little hope maybe. Then suddenly the shore comes into view…now they’re all in a hurry to get out…pushing, treading on each other's feet, bumping into each other, rushing to be first to set foot on dry land. They’d made it.....they’d made it!

What joy and singing must have started….but wait….the Egyptians were following them…now what? Did they come all the way only to be slaughtered? They watch, silent, fearful….and then the murmering starts…someone’s noticed the air’s changing…something’s wrong…and then, the great crash! The waters come together in a mighty show of nature’s power and Egypt’s greatest warriors are drowned like rats in a river! Cymbals, harps, music, Hallelujahs! Imagine this!

In the midst of this all, they must have thought Moses a very powerful leader, a great man with magical powers maybe. They must have considered themselves very special people indeed if God had parted the seas for them breaking all rules of Nature…how proud they must have been!

Now return with me to Psalm 77: 19. Israel never stopped for a moment to consider this. The watery grave that gave them way, they had not walked alone. Verse 16 of the same chapter says: ‘The waters saw you O God, the waters saw you and writhed; the very depths were convulsed!’

The Lord Himself had walked ahead, his footsteps invisible to their eyes! But all creation recognized Him. The Lord, the Lord Almighty Himself had condescended to walk in their midst!! What an honour, what privilege! And so, the way a crowd of people part before a VIP, the sea bowed low before our God….bowed and gave way…keeping his feet dry as long as He walked its depths……and that my friends, is the only reason the Israelites got to the other side in one piece!

Today, in our lives we see situations like these everyday. Doors open to opportunities we never dreamed of, problems solve themselves even before we attempt to sort them out, success comes looking for you of its own accord. Each time this happens, know this: His invisible footprints walk ahead, His awesome presence leads the way. And when this happens, nothing will be denied to you……NOTHING!

This thing called ‘Love’……

Human beings are a plethora of emotions…..happiness, sorrow, anger, peacefulness, jealousy, frustration, ecstasy, hate, love and many more….and everyone feels most of these sometime or the other. But the one emotion that has for ages hogged the limelight on the world’s stage is ‘Love’……

What is this ‘Love’? A little girl experiences it while skipping along in the park - an ice-cream cone in one hand and her dad’s protective hand in the other. A little boy feels it when his puppy yawns, rolls over and licks him on the nose. A teenager goes through it when he reads a mushy love note that his crush left in his locker. A mother understands it when her baby’s tiny fist closes over her little finger. A young couple acknowledge it when they look into each other eyes at the altar and say “I do” and old couples know it when they look back at a life of togetherness and memories on their 60th wedding anniversary…..

What is this ‘Love’? How can it apply to so many different people, mean so many different things and yet be the same thing? Is love a feeling, an emotion only? Or is it something more? In my opinion, love is more than just a feeling. It is a commitment. Feelings change…they pass. Commitments are forever. When you make up your mind to ‘love’ someone, you’re essentially making a commitment to care about that person regardless of what they do, where they go or who they become. Easier said than done. If all of us could do this, there would be so much less heartache in the world.

It must be borne in mind that people, being inherently imperfect, WILL let you down, hurt you, abandon you, forget you, and sometimes even turn against you. Nevertheless, true love still loves. I Corinthians 13 says “Love is patient, kind, not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love is slow to anger and keeps no grudges, hates evil, rejoices in truth, always protects, trusts, hopes and perseveres”. From a human viewpoint, these qualities may be visible in your love relationship with others now and then. But to consistently love this way seems impossible. Correction: Difficult indeed but not impossible.

Our Lord Himself is our role model here. Despite the many ways we turn away or turn against Him, He remains the faithful lover, the Hound of Heaven that chases us to the farthest corners of the earth in order to win us back. Frankly, we ought to be flattered. I mean, the Creator of the Universe actually sets apart time from his packed schedule of running the place to chase you!!! How amazing can this be? Thrilled? Delighted? Great! Now think….if God who has absolutely no need for human company can love us so much, how much more must we, who depend on relationships for emotional survival, love each other? Chew on it……..

Mirror mirror on the wall....

What did u see first when you woke up today (apart from the ceiling fan that is)? The dawn sky blushing silver and gold? Green trees, grass, flowers? Your dog wagging his tail for all he's worth because he's so happy you're stirring again? Or maybe (if you're the typical young person), it was just your TV set tuned to your favourite channel. But there's one important thing we rarely observe everyday......ourselves.

How many of us actually stand in front of the bathroom mirror and take time to gaze at ourselves....sure, we all do that in the prime of youth (or when we've just had a facial!). Sometimes, we take hard, critical looks at our features..."if only my nose were smaller, my lips poutier, my pimples gone and my stomach flat....." we moan....People in good shape go, "Mmmm...you handsome devil you...ur in great shape for your age!"

But how many of us actually stop and wonder at the creation that is 'us'. The wrinkles on your forehead, the crow's feet near your eyes, the leathery quality of old/sunburnt skin, the cracks in chapped lips, even the gray in your hair...how many of us take closer looks at these. We turn away hastily...we don't like visual cues that reminded us of ageing. The next time you turn away like this, STOP! And think...

The Word of God says we are wonderfully and fearfully made and that includes not just clear youthful skin, jet black hair or a firm body, but also gnarled rheumatic fingers, a toothless mouth and a face hidden in wrinkles....no matter how old we are or how ungarciously we age, we are still God's wonderful creations...every cell in your body speaks of His wonderous handiwork......every nerve, and the tiniest bone cries out praises to His name...every blood corpuscle, lymph node and the thinnest of veins marvels at His master design.

So the next time you pass a mirror, wait up, take a deeply appreciative look and say, "Praise the Lord!"

Gonna 'Bug' Ya Today!

Isaiah Ch:40 says "The Lord sits enthroned above the circle of the earth and its people are like grasshoppers"....Grasshoppers! Imagine that.....this is one verse that always struck me as terribly funny and intensely serious at the same time. I am as inconsequential as a grasshopper? On light summer days I remember sprawling on the grass of my garden, idly watching dragonflies, grasshoppers, ants and other little critters busily running, jumping and generally hurrying around on some pre-set busy schedule. I wondered wherever they could be going in such a hurry, but that was that. Not being an entomologist, I rarely gave them a second glance.....and now the Word of God likens me to one of these teensy things I could have stepped on if I'd wanted to!! Amazing!

So this is how I look to Almighty God from His throne in heaven? An inconsequential bug that runs around aimlessly, trying to achieve purposeless things, win meaningless victories, chases money, fame and fortune to no eternal end and finally one day, drops dead? Humbling thought! So I'm not really as wonderful as I or the world make me out to be? I'm just as important as a bug? Very Humbling! And nothing I do that doesn't have God at the centre of it matters? Food for thought huh?

If truth be told, we're not that inconsequential, atleast not to God. In our swollen-up self-important states of mind, it's easy to think that it's natural for God to love us. I mean, we're wonderful aren't we? We're beautiful, rich, successful, talented, popular...why wouldn't God love us? I've got news for you people...Hang on to your seats, but the truth is, God doesn't HAVE to love us....how many grasshoppers in your garden do YOU love???? And yet, God SO loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son....that's the amazing part!

He looks down at us grasshoppers, shakes his head in wonder at our misplaced priorities, weeps over the sinfulness, hate and violence that runs rampant among us, reaches out to rescue, redeem and repair our fallen hearts and through it all, continues to madly love us with an unquenchable passion. There's nothing we could have done or can do now to buy such priceless love....the single unchallenged beauty of Christ is that His love comes free...........yes, even to grasshoppers!

Order out of Chaos....

When we were children, we would go to beach and spend hours toiling over sandcastles. Older people build houses. And for either activity, we use our hands and back and the sweat of our brow. Yet in our creation, there is imperfection. The sandcastles always get washed away and buildings don't last forerever. But our God created a world that has lasted millions of years and the amazing part is that He brought the whole world into being by just speaking! He said "Let there be light" and behold, there was Light! Like magic isn't it? Except that magic is a rather inadequate word to explain such a wondrous act of creation. Who, but our Lord could separate the heavens from the earth? Who but our Lord could bind the seas and oceans and command them not to cross their boundaries into the land? Who but our Lord could create that amazing force called Gravity that makes sure we all stay put and don't float off into space? Who but our Lord could create millions of stars, planets, whole galaxies and yet, lovingly call each star by name? Who, but our Lord? The answer is NONE ELSE. With our Lord, nothing is impossible AND impossible is nothing!

Something out of Nothing????

Imagine.....nothing. Yes, that's what I said...imagine a state where nothing exists...not even darkness...there is just, simply NOTHING! Difficult huh? The human mind does not know how to imagine a state of 'nothingness' because it doesn't know how to comprehend it. This, is the limitation of human thought and intelligence. Genesis says, God created out of nothing. HE knows what 'nothing' looked like! And out of this mysterious 'nothing', he created everything we see today - the land, the se, the skies, the flora, fauna, people.....everything, out of nothing!

We have a God who has a conception of things our minds can never grasp. He knows wonderful, amazing things that we could never understand even in a million lifetimes. When such an Omniscient, wise God who knows EVERYTHING there is to know about the past, the present and the future is looking out for us, isn't it funny the way we don't trust him with our tomorrows? Think about it........