My reflections

Often these days, I find myself wondering about the things in far future rather than focusing on the present. This came to my attention when I came across one of my favourite quotes by Jim Elliot, "Let not our longing slay the appetite for our living". This made me wonder...have I ever lived in the moment? Since my childhood, I have been trained to focus on the question "What's next?". While I do believe that the people who asked me this question wanted me to focus and strive to be better person, this question became a habit in my life. Finish one thing and move on to the next or 'multitasking' - do both at the same time and think of the third thing parallelly. Lately, I've realised that this urge to know all and be all.. actually stemmed from the Urge to be in control of my life. I'm not saying that having control on our lives is wrong but when this control takes a superlative degree, it becomes possessiveness over our own lives. I...

Giving in to the urge to play with a newborn, I placed my index finger in the palm of the baby. Soon she grasped and clung to my finger. She wouldn't let go. This led me to think, creating ripples in my thoughts. A grasp reflex in neonates is caused when pressure is applied to the palm of a newborn, producing traction on the fingers' tendons, thus leading to a firm grip. As the baby grows, yielding to the inhibitions of the brain, this reflex disappears. This physiology of the reflex made me realize how closely this is related to my relationship with God.  That first encounter with Him when His firm yet tender pressure of His Love made me cling to Him!! Those first days when all I could think of was God alone!! How His love was imprinted on my heart and mind!!!  As I looked at the baby's hand still clinging to my finger, I started to wonder, do I still cling to His hand like I used to when I was a neonate in Him?!! Did I yield to the inhibitions of my rational mind and loos...

Have you ever played Peek a Boo with a child? What makes the child so excited to see your face? What makes the child sad when the face is hidden?  This is a concept called Lack of Object Permanence. Meaning, a child thinks that the object that is hidden, is gone for ever and when the object is shown to the child again, it gets excited.  In other words, 'Out of sight = Out of mind'.. Object Permanence completely develops by around 1 year. By this age, they know that the object continues to exist eventhough it is hidden and so when we try playing Peek a boo with toddlers, they get bored. They know you are there even though you hide your face.  Object Permanence is an important milestone.  When a child doesn't attain this, it leads to anxiety and forgetfulness.  I guess, this concept holds good for our spiritual lives as well. There was a time when we were spiritually infants.. we clapped, got excited and were overwhelmed with the goodness of God in our lives and w...

 Over the past few days, my mind has been preoccupied with Hebrews 6:19..  Christ, the anchor for our souls.  Hebrews 6:19 TPT We have this certain hope like a strong, unbreakable anchor holding our souls to God himself. Our anchor of hope is fastened to the mercy seat in the heavenly realm beyond the sacred threshold, and where Jesus, our forerunner,  has gone in before us. He is now and forever our royal Priest like Melchizedek.  This analogy of anchor has made me pause for a while and think of the depth of this verse. I was looking at how these anchors work and turns out, only an anchor that is on the proper sea bed can hold the ship secure and prevent it from drifting away. Fortunately, our anchor is fastened to Christ, who holds us steadfast and prevents us from failing. This anchor was tested and proven by the pioneers who went before us, to be strong enough to endure any kind of hardship our human mind can ever comprehend. By faith, they have held on to t...

 There's a famous saying, "Well begun is half done". Recently I've been wondering if it holds good for Christian life.  I was reading 1 Kings and looking at the life of Solomon, the wisest man in history. A life that began so well ended in despair. The man who wrote most of the Proverbs and instructed how to lead a righteous life lost his way. The man to whom the Lord appeared twice, became insensitive to the voice of God in the end.  On the other hand, I couldn't help but think of Paul's words when he said with gleaming confidence, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." How could there be such a huge difference? One man had a good beginning and a bad finish. Another man persisted in the faith to which he had been called. I guess, I can say that King Solomon let his heart control his life. Yes, his life began so well and he is the wisest king in history. But eventually, he let his heart have its way. His mind...

  "Rejoice, HIGHLY FAVOURED one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" said the angel to Mary.  When I looked at those words, the only thing that kept running in my mind for a while was, "Where is the favour?" Imagine being betrothed to a wonderful person and your family is planning your wedding. People are congratulating you and you are contemplating your life ahead. Out of nowhere, an angel comes and tells you, there's something else planned for your life. My first thoughts were, A few more months and things would have been perfect in the human sense. It would have made Joseph and Mary's life easier. She wouldn’t have had to give birth in a manger. Christ wouldn’t have to be born in a lowly stable. Where is favour in all this? To whom is it favourable? I guess the 'favour' is God choosing to be with us. Dwelling amongst us as a mere human. Choosing to be born to a humble virgin not of a royal birth. Choosing to be born in a manger i...