Category: Practical Apps

PERIPATETIC

Featured ~ Sowmya Gali ~ 1 Comment

James 1: 22-25

22. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24. And, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does.

My son and I were researching on Ptolemy, the ancient Egyptian astronomer, mathematician and philosopher. History records his unique behavior as being peripatetic. It means a person who talks when he walks. Ptolemy was known for being peripatetic. Apart from being an intellectual, he might have been very hyper active. His contributions to science have been an authority for centuries.

The passage above reminds us of our spiritual walk. The Word of God is like a mirror, which shows us as we are with all the beautiful aspects as well as blemishes. If we don’t pause and reflect on our image that is tarnished and considering in whose image we are created, it is difficult for us to be the people of God out there in the world. Just reading the Word is not enough, but obeying and practicing is very vital. Before we go pointing other’s mistakes, it is imperative that we assess ourselves against Christ’s scale, practicing living accordingly, and changing our attitudes. Only then we are worthy to be called the children of God.

We, who are good at preaching, talking but not practicing living out our faith on a day – to – day basis, we should start living out our faith. Being kind and merciful, loving, attentive, non-judgmental, long-suffering, standing firm on the side of truth of God during persecutions, and just imitating Christ in all ways, are some of the ways we can get started on living for Christ intentionally. By doing so, we are not only living out our faith but we are allowing the Holy Spirit to work in us and through us.

Beloved, let us not just talk the talk but let us also walk the walk. That way, our lives reflect the love of Christ to the confused world around us. In the dark days that we are living in, people are walking dazed and confused as they are bombarded with numerous lies. Not many are aware of the absolute truth of God and the devil, on the other hand, is pushing people into a perpetual state of confusion. Even if truth is staring in their face, people are unable to believe it. That’s how severely this pandemic of confusion has infiltrated the minds of people, especially our youth. Truth has become relative when it should be absolute. Therefore, as believers, when we are out in the world, our lives if they reflect the love of Christ, the pandemic of confusion can be eradicated. People’s blindfolds will fall to the ground and they will embrace God’s absolute truth. Beloved, may our good Lord grant us His favor in order for us to be peripatetic.

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When Morality Isn’t Enough

Featured ~ Sowmya Gali

Matthew 19: 16-22

16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”

17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

18 He said to Him, “Which ones?”

Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ 19 ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept [g]from my youth. What do I still lack?”

21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

This young man was sincere in his heart when he approached Jesus with such a genuine question. When he informed Jesus that he was morally an upright man by keeping all of the God’s commands from a very young age, he sure expected Jesus to applaud him for his efforts. His plight begs the question: why isn’t being a moral idealist just enough? He indeed felt that he was still lacking something despite his obedience to the moral law. His emptiness is what drove him to ask Jesus this question.

Great thinkers, philosophers, scientists have all asked this question. In their quest to find the answer, they have experimented with various behaviors, reasonings, philosophies, etc., only to come to nought. Those that found their answer in the Bible, found the ‘ideal’ they were searching. Those that didn’t find their answer were lost or confused. Every other religion or ‘ism’ strives to answer that question but still come up wanting. Only in Christ can be found the ‘ideal’ that we have been searching for.

Being morally upright is beneficial not only to people around the person but to self as well. There is no guilt or condemnation because in the person’s heart, they know that they didn’t hurt their neighbor and they have been pure in their own thoughts and actions. However, the gnawing on the spirit arises when the morally upright person is considering their relationship with their Creator, when they try to figure out what their purpose is on this earth.

C. S. Lewis in his book ‘Mere Christianity’ explains at length about morality: “Some people prefer to talk about moral ‘ideals’ rather than moral rules and about moral ‘idealism’ rather than moral obedience. Now it is, of course true that moral perfection is an ‘ideal’ in the sense that we cannot achieve it. In that sense every kind of perfection is, for us humans, an ideal… but there is another sense in which it is very misleading to call moral perfection an ideal… But it is dangerous to describe a man who tries very hard to keep the moral law as a ‘man of high ideals’, … It might lead you to become a prig and to think you were rather a special person who deserved to be congratulated on his ‘idealism’.”

He further explains using an analogy of a musical band. “Morality, then, seems to be concerned with three things. Firstly, with fair play and harmony between individuals. Secondly, with what might be called tidying up or harmonizing the things inside each individual. Thirdly, with the general purpose of human life as a whole: what man was made for: what course the whole fleet ought to be on: what tune the conductor of the band wants it to play.”

Is our moral living harmonious with fellow saints and in tune with God’s purposes? Striving for morality is good. However, it is not the end of it all. Our moral uprightness is not the way to eternity but Christ alone. How in tune are we with God’s will? How is the Master Conductor conducting our lives for His glory? Are we obedient to this Ideal Master? Or are we seeking our own path and falling out of sync, only to end up frustrated like the young man in Matthew 19? He was asked to give up one thing that was dear to him and follow Jesus. Alas! he couldn’t part with it and obey God’s call. Is God asking us to obey His call and are we finding excuses to achieve moral idealism in our own way?

Dear Saint of God, let us continue to strive to have high moral standards as prescribed by our Heavenly Father. However, let us not lose sight of our ‘Ideal’ – Jesus Christ, who actually showed us how to live. Live a life of moral uprightness, live in harmony with others, but above all, live in obedience to God’s call, living out His purposes, all for His glory. May God help you as you strive for that kind of ‘idealism’.

Reference:

Lewis. C.S. “Mere Christianity”. Harper Collins Publishers, New York, 1952.