UV 2005/10000 The Purpose, Significance and Scope of Redemption
Therefore thus saith the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob, Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale
Isaiah 29 v 22
We cannot redeem ourselves, from our sins and from our sinful nature. The Lord redeemed Abraham on account of the latter’s faithfulness. Abraham proved his faithfulness in keeping his part of the covenant with the Lord. As a blessing, the Lord promised to bless Abraham with descendants and to similarly bless his descendants. As in marriage where a wife leaves her father’s house to where her husband takes her, Abraham too had to leave his father’s house in Ur or modern Iraq for Canaan where the Lord asked him to go. He had to now cleave to His Father in heaven. Abram’s first name which meant “High” or “Mighty” father was a misnomer for he had not till then sired a child. God changed his name and identity to Abraham which meant “father of a multitude.” His son Isaac was blessed by the Lord but it was through his grandson Jacob that the Lord revealed His mercy. Jacob had much reproach and shame in his life. His sin of deceiving his brother Esau and his father Isaac haunted him with shame. He became a fugitive from his own home and his own kith and kin. But the Lord did not forsake or leave him. The Lord did not condemn or excuse him for his cunning and deceit. He helped him deal with his sinful nature. Jacob became an overcomer. While Isaac reserved his blessings for only his elder son, Jacob was so blessed that he could bless each of his twelve sons who became in time the head of their respective tribes.
In Shakespearean tragedy as in Greek tragedies, the hero has a fatal flaw from which he cannot escape. It drags them down to defeat, despondency and death. There is no redemption for him or her and the flaw destroys them. But in the kingdom of God, the Lord redeems our nature from lying, cheating, violence, dead habits, debts, losses, mishaps, shame and reproach. There is nothing in us or in our past, present or future that the Lord cannot redeem us from. Jesus is the Redeemer of our souls but the Holy Spirit is the redeemer of our nature. The Holy Spirit asks the Jacob in each of us not to run away from our guilt and shame but to be still and know that He is God, the Redeemer, the One who is patient with us and will help us overcome our own inner weaknesses.
Matching our redeemed souls with redeemed nature is the challenge of faith. There are things we could say or think or do before with ease that we can no longer say, think or do. We can no longer be selfish, proud, arrogant, bitter, unforgiving, greedy or insecure. These behaviour traits and patterns put us to shame in the past and grieved the Holy Spirit. Our bodies are no longer the house of Jacob but the house or temple of Jesus. The love for the pure and the sacred replaces the passion for the profane and vulgar. The ignoble and baser aspects of our nature are transformed into the noble and beautiful. We are no longer running away from our past shame and guilt but we are running towards honour and glory of the Lord.
Prateep V Philip
Thursday, July 7, 2016
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
Prayer Mountains
UV 2004/10000 Prayer Mountains
And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount.
Exodus 34 v 2
Each of us is to present ourselves on the mountain of the Lord, a metaphor for the high place the Lord inhabits in our souls and spirits. We are to have a one-to-One, face to face personal meeting or encounter with the Lord. Like the sun rises early each day, we are to rise early and bask in the Sun of Righteousness to renew our strength and draw energy, warmth and light from Him. When we do so, we receive the promise of the Lord that our days and our lives would be greatly blessed. It is the most sacred and blessed time and place of our lives. We receive the power to lead others from the Lord as Moses received power to lead his people. We receive wisdom to lead and to teach or train others. We receive specific instructions and guidance in the mundane challenges of the day.
Unlike in the time of Moses, the Lord does not write on tablets of stone or even on electronic tablets of the modern day but on the tablet of our hearts and minds. He burns His truths deep into our hearts so that our lives begin to reflect His glory and grace. He gives us the spiritual manna and the bread of everlasting life. He sends His word to heal us of our destructive ways, thoughts and emotions. We renew our covenant with the Lord day after day when we discipline ourselves to meet with Him. As we meet with Him with all reverence and thanksgiving, His presence covers us like a thick cloud and sends down the moisture or dew of Hermon that anoints us afresh and fills us with His eternal power.
When we unfailingly renew ourselves in the Lord and make the joy of the Lord our strength, He ensures that we have “top” of the mountain experiences in our relationships, our professions, our family , our challenges. Our homes become a “top” or a tabernacle of peace. Moses’ face shone with a divine radiance when he left the presence of the Lord and returned to the people. Even so, people will be drawn to the divine radiance in our lives. Sin and the desires of the world will no longer cling to us like leeches. The presence of the Lord will not leave us or forsake us even when we return to the valleys, when we have bad days or when we feel low and gloomy. Even though Jesus was so full of grace and truth, He needed to resort to the mountains around Jerusalem to commune with the Father and the Spirit. The South Korean believers have learnt from this habit of the Lord and designated various hills around Seoul as “prayer mountains” where hundreds gather every day to pray continually. The spirit behind the habit of the Lord is that we need to withdraw ourselves from all people, all attractions and distractions and retreat into the very presence of the Lord, to be renewed, re-charged and re-anointed day after day.
Prateep V Philip
And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount.
Exodus 34 v 2
Each of us is to present ourselves on the mountain of the Lord, a metaphor for the high place the Lord inhabits in our souls and spirits. We are to have a one-to-One, face to face personal meeting or encounter with the Lord. Like the sun rises early each day, we are to rise early and bask in the Sun of Righteousness to renew our strength and draw energy, warmth and light from Him. When we do so, we receive the promise of the Lord that our days and our lives would be greatly blessed. It is the most sacred and blessed time and place of our lives. We receive the power to lead others from the Lord as Moses received power to lead his people. We receive wisdom to lead and to teach or train others. We receive specific instructions and guidance in the mundane challenges of the day.
Unlike in the time of Moses, the Lord does not write on tablets of stone or even on electronic tablets of the modern day but on the tablet of our hearts and minds. He burns His truths deep into our hearts so that our lives begin to reflect His glory and grace. He gives us the spiritual manna and the bread of everlasting life. He sends His word to heal us of our destructive ways, thoughts and emotions. We renew our covenant with the Lord day after day when we discipline ourselves to meet with Him. As we meet with Him with all reverence and thanksgiving, His presence covers us like a thick cloud and sends down the moisture or dew of Hermon that anoints us afresh and fills us with His eternal power.
When we unfailingly renew ourselves in the Lord and make the joy of the Lord our strength, He ensures that we have “top” of the mountain experiences in our relationships, our professions, our family , our challenges. Our homes become a “top” or a tabernacle of peace. Moses’ face shone with a divine radiance when he left the presence of the Lord and returned to the people. Even so, people will be drawn to the divine radiance in our lives. Sin and the desires of the world will no longer cling to us like leeches. The presence of the Lord will not leave us or forsake us even when we return to the valleys, when we have bad days or when we feel low and gloomy. Even though Jesus was so full of grace and truth, He needed to resort to the mountains around Jerusalem to commune with the Father and the Spirit. The South Korean believers have learnt from this habit of the Lord and designated various hills around Seoul as “prayer mountains” where hundreds gather every day to pray continually. The spirit behind the habit of the Lord is that we need to withdraw ourselves from all people, all attractions and distractions and retreat into the very presence of the Lord, to be renewed, re-charged and re-anointed day after day.
Prateep V Philip
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
Life Giving Weapons
UV 2003/10000 Life Giving Weapons
And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;
Isaiah 49 v 2
As we hide in the shadow of the Almighty or dwell in His presence in silence, worship, prayer, praise and meditation, the Lord makes us like a sharp double-edged weapon, a life-giving weapon not a weapon of destruction. One side of the weapon or sword is used to affirm the positive or good and the other to negate the negative or evil in life. But with the breath of his mouth, he has the power to defeat the wicked, the ungodly and unrighteous. We become the mouthpiece of God on earth to pronounce deliverance, to comfort the grieving, to encourage those who are broken hearted, to declare healing, to break strongholds. Our words whether we write them or speak them are like polished arrows that penetrate the hearts of the listener or the reader and perform the work of the Lord in their lives.
Since our words are life-giving ammunition or arrows, we should collect it as in a quiver and use it with great care and aim. The tongue is a super-power organ in our bodies. It is the bow string from which the arrow flies. Our minds are the bow itself. Hence, we need to subject our emotions, thoughts and intentions to the disciplining of the Lord. The bow takes a lot of pressure while the arrow is being loaded and aimed. Like the bow, we need to be resilient and be in constant use and readiness to be deployed. Just as our tongues are hidden in our mouths, so also we need to hide or be surrounded by the Lord at all times. We need to be saturated with His word in order to be effective and powerful weapons in His hand.
The words of life that become arrows that penetrate the hearts of people are themselves stored in our hearts. Our hearts are the ordinance factory of words. This is the reason scripture states that the mouth will speak what the heart is full of. We need to constantly ask the Lord to rid our hearts of malice, envy, hatred, bitterness for these are the weapons our common enemy of the soul uses to rob us and our words of the power to influence or build the faith of others. It is not our accents that are to be polished and sound sophisticated but our thoughts, our emotions, our desires.
Prateep V Philip
And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;
Isaiah 49 v 2
As we hide in the shadow of the Almighty or dwell in His presence in silence, worship, prayer, praise and meditation, the Lord makes us like a sharp double-edged weapon, a life-giving weapon not a weapon of destruction. One side of the weapon or sword is used to affirm the positive or good and the other to negate the negative or evil in life. But with the breath of his mouth, he has the power to defeat the wicked, the ungodly and unrighteous. We become the mouthpiece of God on earth to pronounce deliverance, to comfort the grieving, to encourage those who are broken hearted, to declare healing, to break strongholds. Our words whether we write them or speak them are like polished arrows that penetrate the hearts of the listener or the reader and perform the work of the Lord in their lives.
Since our words are life-giving ammunition or arrows, we should collect it as in a quiver and use it with great care and aim. The tongue is a super-power organ in our bodies. It is the bow string from which the arrow flies. Our minds are the bow itself. Hence, we need to subject our emotions, thoughts and intentions to the disciplining of the Lord. The bow takes a lot of pressure while the arrow is being loaded and aimed. Like the bow, we need to be resilient and be in constant use and readiness to be deployed. Just as our tongues are hidden in our mouths, so also we need to hide or be surrounded by the Lord at all times. We need to be saturated with His word in order to be effective and powerful weapons in His hand.
The words of life that become arrows that penetrate the hearts of people are themselves stored in our hearts. Our hearts are the ordinance factory of words. This is the reason scripture states that the mouth will speak what the heart is full of. We need to constantly ask the Lord to rid our hearts of malice, envy, hatred, bitterness for these are the weapons our common enemy of the soul uses to rob us and our words of the power to influence or build the faith of others. It is not our accents that are to be polished and sound sophisticated but our thoughts, our emotions, our desires.
Prateep V Philip
Commanding the Dry Bones
UV 1802-10000 Commanding the Dry Bones
Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
Ezekiel 37 v 5
The Lord God is the One who created us and breathed life into us. Hence, even when our bones are completely dry or even the marrow in it has dried up, He can revive us. The bones of our dreams, our careers, our hopes need to be revived by the breath of the Word. The Word contains the life-giving breath or power of the Lord. It infuses us with hope even in utterly hopeless situations. The vision that the prophet Ezekiel describes is a vast valley filled with skeletons or in other words, a valley of death and devastation. In such a situation, the Lord asks him to prophecy or command the bones in the name of the Lord and promises that the skeletons will come to life. One moment Israel is a picture of defeat and disaster and the next it becomes a powerful unified kingdom under the rule of God. Our leadership is not human but it is our Lord and God who is our leader. We are His foot soldiers. The bones signify the framework or world view that each of us has. The disparate pieces of our lives that make no sense till now will come together to reveal an unity , meaning, purpose and power. Within that framework, the Lord will pour in His spirit of life and resurrection. The coming together of the bones or skeletons is a metaphor for unconnected factors of life: people, opportunities, resources, purpose and power coming together to make meaning, fullness, abundance and triumph a possibility. People without God are like dried bones. A life without purpose is like dried bones. A plan without the power to implement it is like dried bones. Power without an eternal purpose is like dried bones. A life that ends in the grave is like dried bones. The vision of a valley of dried bones is the projection of a world without God, a world without the gospel of love and the miraculous transformation that faith and love brings about in connecting the different broken and unconnected parts of our human lives.
The Lord has quickened us or made us alive with the hope of glory that we have in Christ. Christ in us is the hope of life. Christ in us is the hope of the power we need to live victoriously like a mighty army. Christ in us is the hope of being secure, having our physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual needs met. Christ in us is the hope of fulfilment. Christ in us is the hope of eternal life. Not only are we preserved beyond the grave but we can inspire such hope and power in others around us. We need His touch and His breath every day of our lives in order to stand up on our feet, to engage in spiritual warfare and to be victorious in all the challenges we face. The Holy Spirit is a meek but powerful Person. He can call forth light out of darkness, life out of death, faith out of faithlessness, power out of powerlessness, order out of chaos, unity out of disunity, victory out of failure. He commands the impossible to be possible.
Neither death, defeat or failure is not final or ultimate in our lives. The Lord is sovereign and absolute. He delegates His absolute power to us who believe that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life as He declared. We have the power to command, the power to prophecy. Nothing we do is in vain. The reference to an army is to show that there is a certain hierarchy in the anointing we receive to command the spiritual powers of life. Some are generals, some are captains and many are soldiers. According to the calling and anointing we have received, we need to exercise our authority and gifts for the glory of God, the extension of His spiritual kingdom or influence, to reclaim living souls from the spiritual dead in all nations.
Prateep V Philip
Sunday, July 3, 2016
The Trees of the Lord
UV 1801/10000 The Trees of the Lord
The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Psalm 92 v 12
The words and metaphors of scripture are employed with great attention to detail. There is no one who is righteous, states scripture but yet this uni-verse says that the righteous flourish.. There is no one righteous in terms of motives, words, thoughts or actions but we are declared righteous when we believe Jesus and accept Him as Saviour and Lord. Such a person is anointed as with the oil of the palm tree. We are anointed with the oil of gladness and joy. To be anointed is to be consecrated, to be declared sacred or holy.
A good number of people grow in terms of stature, status, wealth and fame but they remain sterile or fruitless. But we are ordained or destined by the Lord to grow tall and strong like the cedars of Lebanon and fruitful like the date palm and not nutty like the coconut palm. The cedar in India is known as deodhar or the tree of God. We are the trees of the Lord and are full of sap or spiritual attitudes and power by virtue of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The roots of our thoughts and emotions run deep into the soul and further into the Word of God. The roots drive the sap up our shoots and branches and turns it into spiritual fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self control. Our words, thoughts, actions and reactions should consistently reflect these spiritual qualities regardless of the environment or the provocation. If we keep growing like the cedars, we are beautiful and if we are cut for our wood, we are useful.
There is a difference between the growth and prosperity of the worldly or the unbeliever. They grow rapidly like the grass but will not last long. They flourish only to perish. We perish only to flourish. The Lord is not against our physical or financial growth and prosperity but we need to offer everything back to the Lord. Our growth may be incremental or slow and gradual but our prosperity will continue into eternity. Not only should we grow but we should allow and actively encourage others to grow. We are to be like the “oxygenal” banyan tree that constantly gives out oxygen and allows others to grow around us. Jesus cursed few things in His sojourn on earth like the fruitless fig tree. The withering of the fruitless fig tree is a warning to each of us and tells us that Jesus regards fruitfulness and growth as next only to faithfulness.
Prateep V Philip
Saturday, July 2, 2016
Broken Clay Vessels Made Whole
UV 1800/10000 Broken Clay Vessels Made Whole
He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.
Song of Solomon 2 v 4
The Lord calls us to His house. His house is a house of celebration like the house of the father of the returning prodigal son. The Lord desires that our hearts and minds be filled with His love and His joy. What delights the Lord we delight in and we derive our strength, nourishment and power from therein. He invites us to a continual banquet. His banner of love that is contained in John 3 v 16 is a standing invitation to all mankind. The cross is the pedestal that holds up this invitation for all mankind to see, both the great and the small as well as those in between.
The foundation of the banqueting house is the Rock called Jesus. The compound is fenced with walls of fire. The glory or the exceeding greatness and immaculate perfection of the Lord is seen in our midst or in our workaday world. The servants of God are the ones who serve the banquet to the rest of mankind. The delicious dishes are the precepts and the promises of the Lord. The ambience is one of heaven and the fragrance is that of the aroma of Christ. The music is the praise and worship of all mankind and of angels, too. The song that is sung is the Song of the Lamb, the Lamb that was slain as a sacrifice and rose again as the Lion of Judah. The cause for celebration is the coming home of those who belong to the Lord and to whom the Lord belongs. The standard of the House is not one of power , might and of war but one to manifest true love. The Lord not only invites us but He provides the transport through the agency of the Holy Spirit. Life being a continual spiritual banquet, we should be chewing on, tasting or digesting one or other promise and precept of the Lord. The Lord honours us for our faithfulness to Him and declares in public what we have done in secret or private. The roof or canopy of the house is the shadow or presence of the Almighty. His shadow is more real, powerful and glorious than the physical presence of all other beings.
The Lord is the King who collects not golden vessels of perfection but He revels in collecting broken vessels of clay. We are those broken vessels of clay. But when the divine healing touch of His burning finger touches our cracks, the fissures and fractures are cured forever and we become better than vessels of pure gold. Other clay vessels have a burning flame and heat applied on the outside and for a time till they are hardened but we have the fire burning inside us and continually, not to harden us but to soften us even as our minds and bodies are hardened to bear suffering like the Christ in us. It is the message that we carry or contain that defines us and not our outer form. The intent of the content is to convey the love of God to all. People should not be found to be preoccupied or too busy to heed the invitation of the Lord. They should not be too focussed on their private affairs, their business or their engagements so as not to be able to heed the voice of the Lord inviting them to the banquet of the Lord. The whole of scripture is but an invitation to mankind and the whole of life is a banquet. Our experiences and testimonies are the variety of dishes that are on display and for wholesome consumption. The joy of the Lord is much more than what many flagons of wine can deliver. The house of love is also a house of victory. We can shout to the Lord with a voice of triumph.
Prateep V Philip
He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.
Song of Solomon 2 v 4
The Lord calls us to His house. His house is a house of celebration like the house of the father of the returning prodigal son. The Lord desires that our hearts and minds be filled with His love and His joy. What delights the Lord we delight in and we derive our strength, nourishment and power from therein. He invites us to a continual banquet. His banner of love that is contained in John 3 v 16 is a standing invitation to all mankind. The cross is the pedestal that holds up this invitation for all mankind to see, both the great and the small as well as those in between.
The foundation of the banqueting house is the Rock called Jesus. The compound is fenced with walls of fire. The glory or the exceeding greatness and immaculate perfection of the Lord is seen in our midst or in our workaday world. The servants of God are the ones who serve the banquet to the rest of mankind. The delicious dishes are the precepts and the promises of the Lord. The ambience is one of heaven and the fragrance is that of the aroma of Christ. The music is the praise and worship of all mankind and of angels, too. The song that is sung is the Song of the Lamb, the Lamb that was slain as a sacrifice and rose again as the Lion of Judah. The cause for celebration is the coming home of those who belong to the Lord and to whom the Lord belongs. The standard of the House is not one of power , might and of war but one to manifest true love. The Lord not only invites us but He provides the transport through the agency of the Holy Spirit. Life being a continual spiritual banquet, we should be chewing on, tasting or digesting one or other promise and precept of the Lord. The Lord honours us for our faithfulness to Him and declares in public what we have done in secret or private. The roof or canopy of the house is the shadow or presence of the Almighty. His shadow is more real, powerful and glorious than the physical presence of all other beings.
The Lord is the King who collects not golden vessels of perfection but He revels in collecting broken vessels of clay. We are those broken vessels of clay. But when the divine healing touch of His burning finger touches our cracks, the fissures and fractures are cured forever and we become better than vessels of pure gold. Other clay vessels have a burning flame and heat applied on the outside and for a time till they are hardened but we have the fire burning inside us and continually, not to harden us but to soften us even as our minds and bodies are hardened to bear suffering like the Christ in us. It is the message that we carry or contain that defines us and not our outer form. The intent of the content is to convey the love of God to all. People should not be found to be preoccupied or too busy to heed the invitation of the Lord. They should not be too focussed on their private affairs, their business or their engagements so as not to be able to heed the voice of the Lord inviting them to the banquet of the Lord. The whole of scripture is but an invitation to mankind and the whole of life is a banquet. Our experiences and testimonies are the variety of dishes that are on display and for wholesome consumption. The joy of the Lord is much more than what many flagons of wine can deliver. The house of love is also a house of victory. We can shout to the Lord with a voice of triumph.
Prateep V Philip
Friday, July 1, 2016
Ocean of Agape
UV 1799/10000 Ocean of Agape
Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.
Isaiah 49 v 1
No man is an island but we live like isolated isles, seeking our own goals, pursuing our own paths according to our lights and chasing the illusion of knowledge, power, pleasure and wealth. We live today in a world where rocks have replaced the hearts of men and we have become islands indifferent to the ocean of need around us. But, the Lord our Maker knows each of us intimately from our mothers’ wombs. He formed us and knitted us together and shaped the foundations of our personalities and of our lives. While the Greek philosopher from the islands of Greece, Socrates spouted his wisdom that “ knowing oneself is the essence of knowledge,” he did not realize that in order to know oneself, one needed first to know God, the One who birthed our very identity and breathed life into our nostrils, the One who saw us even before our earthly parents set sight upon us, the One who was with us full time during the nine months before we were born. But we cut the spiritual umbilical cord soon after we were born and began to live by sight and virtue of our limited reason and knowledge.
Limited knowledge results in limited success and joy. Unlimited knowledge results in infinite fulfillment and joy. When we know the Lord intimately as He knows us for He knows our thoughts, our emotions, our desires, our goals, our weaknesses, our failures, we would have gained the true and full grasp of knowledge. We will realize that each of us is not an isolated independent isle but that we are both interdependent on each other and dependent on the sovereign Lord for our security, fulfillment and joy. The Word is the map and manual that shows us the details of His plan for mankind as a whole and for each of us. It is Immannuel’s Manual. He sanctifies and edifies or builds us up from our wombs. Our parents may give us names they have chosen along with the names they themselves were given but our true identity is found in the name of the Lord, in the name He gives us. Jesus told Simon that “ You will be called Peter or Rock “ for his eventual steadfast faith in Jesus after the Resurrection became the foundation on which the church is built. Jesus gave the chief persecutor of those times Saul, the name Paul.
If we look at people from the perspective of this Uni-verse, we would see the seven billion plus persons on this earth as interconnected Isles surrounded and connected by the ocean of agape or unconditional love of God. Despite knowing our rebellious, stubborn and unfaithful nature, He loves us. God saw the gap between man and God and between man and man and filled it with agape. We need to fathom and comprehend by the power of the Spirit of God the length, breadth and depth of this ocean of love that surrounds us. The Word is our plumbing device to know the dimensions of agape love. Our strength is constantly renewed by tasting of the waters of agape. Now we perceive God by seeing His reflection in the surface of the ocean and in the face and suffering of Jesus. But one day death shall transport us across the vast ocean in the Ark of Christ that takes not just a representative of our gene pool but everyone named by God to the very presence of the Lord.
Prateep V Philip
Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.
Isaiah 49 v 1
No man is an island but we live like isolated isles, seeking our own goals, pursuing our own paths according to our lights and chasing the illusion of knowledge, power, pleasure and wealth. We live today in a world where rocks have replaced the hearts of men and we have become islands indifferent to the ocean of need around us. But, the Lord our Maker knows each of us intimately from our mothers’ wombs. He formed us and knitted us together and shaped the foundations of our personalities and of our lives. While the Greek philosopher from the islands of Greece, Socrates spouted his wisdom that “ knowing oneself is the essence of knowledge,” he did not realize that in order to know oneself, one needed first to know God, the One who birthed our very identity and breathed life into our nostrils, the One who saw us even before our earthly parents set sight upon us, the One who was with us full time during the nine months before we were born. But we cut the spiritual umbilical cord soon after we were born and began to live by sight and virtue of our limited reason and knowledge.
Limited knowledge results in limited success and joy. Unlimited knowledge results in infinite fulfillment and joy. When we know the Lord intimately as He knows us for He knows our thoughts, our emotions, our desires, our goals, our weaknesses, our failures, we would have gained the true and full grasp of knowledge. We will realize that each of us is not an isolated independent isle but that we are both interdependent on each other and dependent on the sovereign Lord for our security, fulfillment and joy. The Word is the map and manual that shows us the details of His plan for mankind as a whole and for each of us. It is Immannuel’s Manual. He sanctifies and edifies or builds us up from our wombs. Our parents may give us names they have chosen along with the names they themselves were given but our true identity is found in the name of the Lord, in the name He gives us. Jesus told Simon that “ You will be called Peter or Rock “ for his eventual steadfast faith in Jesus after the Resurrection became the foundation on which the church is built. Jesus gave the chief persecutor of those times Saul, the name Paul.
If we look at people from the perspective of this Uni-verse, we would see the seven billion plus persons on this earth as interconnected Isles surrounded and connected by the ocean of agape or unconditional love of God. Despite knowing our rebellious, stubborn and unfaithful nature, He loves us. God saw the gap between man and God and between man and man and filled it with agape. We need to fathom and comprehend by the power of the Spirit of God the length, breadth and depth of this ocean of love that surrounds us. The Word is our plumbing device to know the dimensions of agape love. Our strength is constantly renewed by tasting of the waters of agape. Now we perceive God by seeing His reflection in the surface of the ocean and in the face and suffering of Jesus. But one day death shall transport us across the vast ocean in the Ark of Christ that takes not just a representative of our gene pool but everyone named by God to the very presence of the Lord.
Prateep V Philip
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