Today's links 21/12/2009

A Great Illustration of Incarnation (HT: Z)

From John Ortberg’s God Is Closer Than You Think:

Father Damien was a priest who became famous for his willingness to serve lepers. He moved to Kalawao – a village on the island of Molokai, in Hawaii, that had been quarantined to serve as a leper colony. For 16 years, he lived in their midst. He learned to speak their language. He bandaged their wounds, embraced the bodies no one else would touch, preached to hearts that would otherwise have been left alone. He organized schools, bands, and choirs. He built homes so that the lepers could have shelter. He built 2,000 coffins by hand so that, when they died, they could be buried with dignity. Slowly, it was said, Kalawao became a place to live rather than a place to die, for Father Damien offered hope.

Father Damien was not careful about keeping his distance. He did nothing to separate himself from his people. He dipped his fingers in the poi bowl along with the patients. He shared his pipe. He did not always wash his hands after bandaging open sores. He got close. For this, the people loved him.

Then one day he stood up and began his sermon with two words: “We lepers….”

Now he wasn’t just helping them. Now he was one of them. From this day forward, he wasn’t just on their island; he was in their skin. First he had chosen to live as they lived; now he would die as they died. Now they were in it together.

One day God came to Earth and began his message: “We lepers….” Now he wasn’t just helping us. Now he was one of us. Now he was in our skin. Now we were in it together.


So, how should a person respond when they find the pros and cons of their very existence being debated? (HT:Z)

Caleb Jones, who lives with cystic fibrosis, writes his thoughts on hearing that people feel pregnant mothers should undergo screening for cystic fibrosis, and abort babies if they are found to be affected. In this hard-hitting article, he writes:

Evil like this does not start spontaneously. It starts with an idea that sprouts and develops in the minds of men. In Weimar Germany, an idea of Jews as an annoyance came first. That was anti-Semitism. Then, Jews became a problem to be fixed. That was discrimination and oppression. Then, they were an enemy of the state to be eliminated. That was the holocaust. Presently, unwanted pregnancies of all stripes are considered annoyances. Taking root is the belief that these annoyances are problems to be fixed. With the health of the country becoming more and more a responsibility and an expenditure of government, how many intermediate steps are necessary for expensive populations (e.g. those with cystic fibrosis or Down’s syndrome) to become enemies of the state? I for one will not place my bets on stopping a slippery slope.

And finally some great quotes that had me thinking:

God Gives Us Grace for Wednesday, Not our Imagination of Thursday
(from another excellent article on worrying by Justin Buzzard. Do read the article.)

From Al Mohler's commencement address to the graduates of the Southern Seminary class of December 2009:
If you aim to finish what you start in ministry, you will aim too low or finish what is not Christ's........Start something you cannot finish and give yourself to it for the length of your days, with the strength of your life, to the glory of God.

And another provocative statement from John Piper above this great photo:



Risk is relative. And there is refuge where you least expect it.

So, what are we risking our lives for?

Chocolate from a cow!

I went with Anand today to pick up my phone. I had given it in for repairs (after Anand had soaked it in a glass of water!)

As we walked along the pavement, I was carrying Anand in my left arm because of the crowd. To my right, I noticed a man a few feet in front of me gesticulating angrily, and waving his broom, as if to scare somebody away.

I then felt a sudden pain in my left lower abdomen, as though I had been struck. As I swung around to the left, I realised what had happened.

We had been attacked by a cow!

The cow, perhaps taking evasive action from this angry man on my right, had attacked us by lowering its head, and striking us with its horns. The horns had struck me on the left lower abdomen, and then upwards onto my left chest, and Anand's lower back.

Anand was very upset, and began crying. He had never before encountered an angry cow.

I was worried. I have treated so many patients after bull gore injuries, and know all that could have happened. I quickly entered the phone shop, and did a quick examination of Anand, and found there was not a scratch. I, too, had escaped without any injury.

Later, I bought a chocolate for Anand, and told him he had been a brave boy.

When we returned home, I asked Anand to tell his mother what had happened. He said, "Bad cow hit Dada." He then said something about an angel, that we didn't quite catch. He never repeated his statement again.

After dinner, he had his chocolate. He then ran around the table to me.

"Thank you, Dada! I love you, Dada! Here, big huggie! God gave Anand chocolate!"

Arpita tells me that a couple of nights ago, after Anand had said his night prayer, and lay down, he suddenly sat up. "Pray for chocolate!" He then knelt down, prayed for chocolate, and went to sleep.

Tonight, in family prayers, he thanked God for chocolate!

So, what do you think?
1. Did Anand see an angel protecting the two of us?
2. Did God answer his prayer for chocolate?!

Today's links 12/12/2009

3 Truths That Change Your Life: An excellent blog post by Justin Buzzard, that helped me find perspective last week. He writes about how three simple truths, understood and believed together, help overcome fear, anxiety and insecurity. The truths are:
1. God is Sovereign.
2. God is Wise and
3. God is Good.
Do read the article.

Another great quote I came across on Buzzard Blog:
"People who understand that their creativity is a gift of God, rather than putting it in the place of God himself, discover a paradoxical freedom. They are both free to work and free from work. Motivated by love and gratitude (powerful motivators) they are free to work very hard, giving their best back to God. At the same time, because they know neither they nor their work is God, they are free from the burden of taking themselves or their work too seriously—as if their giftedness mandated perfection."

That's a very meaty statement people like me need to think about all the time, so that we do not swing to either extreme....neglecting our work and thinking work is not important, or, on the other hand, becoming work-driven and elevating work to the place of God ("work is worship"..a very commonly heard phrase here at CMC)

Remember the video I posted earlier of a sermon by Matt Chandler, which I had found very convicting and thought-provoking. It seems that a few days later, on Thanksgiving Day, he had a seizure and was found to have a brain tumour, and subsequently had surgery. Here is a short video (about 5 mins) recorded by him for his church, that was screened at the various services the Sunday after his surgery. It is quite a powerful testimony, and, while I have been praying for this dear brother who has already impacted my life, I have also been blessed by his example of "suffering well".

Here are two good articles from the Desiring God blog:
1. Jon Bloom writes about the "older brother types".....(perhaps most of us fall into this category. Our sins are not so obvious and well known, but are just as deadly). He answers the question, "Do we have to sin more grossly in order to be able to comprehend how much we have been forgiven so that we can "love much"?" and says, "It takes a miracle to be delivered from both blinding sinful self-righteousness and blinding sinful indulgence."

2. Some parenting advice from John Piper while answering the question, "Why Require Unregenerate Children to Act Like They’re Good?". Much like most of our "born-in-a-Christian-family" Indian Christians, isn't there a risk that this might "simply confirm them in unspiritual religious conformity, hypocritical patterns of life, and legalistic moralism?"

This just goes to drive in even more forcefully the fact that while we can train a child to say "Please" and "Thank you" and follow a list of laws, perhaps unhappily, only God can change the heart, so that obedience comes from the heart, joyfully, and from a desire to please God.

Which brings me again to express my hope that our parents will write some posts on this blog with parenting advice they have learnt the hard way over the years.

An interesting article on How December 25 Became Christmas. We have not decided yet what to do this year......Arpita is talking about Advent calendars and Advent candles as a way of telling Anand the story of Jesus' birth, but nothing has happened as yet. My objection to celebrating Christmas has, partly, to do with how the entire festival has become a commercial business, dominated with pagan traditions like Santa Claus, Christmas trees, and silly, meaningless carols. As I wonder about how to tell Anand the truth and the wonderful news about how Jesus was born, I think about how the message always gets garbled at Christmas time. What do you think is the impression the average Indian non-Christian has when he thinks about Christmas, the celebration of Jesus' birth?

On a lighter note, here is a list prepared every year, as an indicator of the state of the economy. This year, it will cost over 87,000 dollars to express your feelings to your true love.

Finally here is an incredible (as in, hard to believe!) video from youtube. I wonder if my brother is planning to do this at his wedding next month