Paulson Post

In the events associated with the birth and infancy of Jesus we hear the unique message that he has for the world then and now. Christmas decorations depicting the Baby Jesus in a manger are integral part of the displays during the season. It is a reminder that God comes to the human race in the most non-threatening way, in the form of an infant. Jesus Christ came to this world in the form of a baby born in a manger outside an inn in Bethlehem. Babies are innocent, they have no enemies, they have no prejudices. All babies are cute and adorable. We love babies not for their eloquence or even for their achievements: they are unable to speak and they haven't achieved anything yet. They don't threaten us in any way! It is the most non-threatening form God can incarnate. His purpose was to make a dwelling in the hearts of people, so he chose to be in the form of a baby. Besides this non-threatening presence of God in our midst, Christmas also reminds us of the...

'God is closer to me than I am to myself,' said Meister Eckhart (1260-1328), the German mystic and theologian of the bygone days. He went on to say that God is close to the wood but the wood doesn't realize that. That's true. God is closer to us but we don't realize the fact of God's nearness to us. This insensitivity to God's nearness is caused by those things that have exiled God from our consciousness. It could also be that that many of our worldly concerns, cares and the like has created a wedge between us and our God and we let that gap grow as time went by, thus distancing us from our God. We have many things that can take the place of God in our life. There are many rivals to God and we have consciously or unconsciously give these rivals to God the place of God in our lives. These are things that engage each moment of our lives. Our busy life, life's prior...

Jesus once told the parable of the treasure hidden in a field (Matthew 13:44). A man who knew there was treasure hidden in a field sold all that he has and bought that field. He paid a price that is much higher than the actual price of the field. For the owner of the field and others this man appeared to be a fool. Though the owner of the field was selling the field, this man was in fact buying the treasure. The owner could see only the field but the buyer sees a treasure in it. This parable applies to all who have sacrificed all that they have for the sake of the Kingdom of God that Jesus came to establish. The best illustration of this parable is what happened in Jericho during the visit of Jesus when he met Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10). The Bible ...

I had an aisle seat; so I was waiting for the other two passengers in my row before I buckle up and have a nap. I haven’t slept the whole night thanks for this red-eye flight. A young man and his wife walks towards my row; it seems they are going to be my co-passengers for the three hour flight in economy class. He was about 27 with a thin but medium long moustache and a cap that betrayed his religious identity. His religious identity was clear from the way he and his wife dressed. His wife wore a long black robe. Only her eyes were visible through a slit on that black gown.  I looked away as I made way for them to get to their seats. The young man let his wife go to her window seat and then turned to me. "Uncle, how are you!” the young man asked me in a very friendly tone. That woke me up and I made an eye contact with him; his friendly smile conquered me. I wanted to sleep, but he won’t let me. He kept talking always punctuating it with this respectful "uncle.” I mana...

Yesterday was a great day in my life! I had a big problem to sort out; but it was great opportunity to learn something directly from God. The church I pastor had been worshiping in a hotel room for the last three years. After a wonderful service last Sunday, as I walked out of the "church”, the manager of the hotel called me aside to say that we have to move out. That means I will have to find a new place for next Sunday. So, I started the hunt for places. Called up real-estate agents, sent text-messages to church members to pray and called leaders together to pray. I started with a Parsi lady who runs a small nursery school from her mother’s cottage. Though she gave me an appointment at 5:00 pm I could not keep it since I was with a property dealer who was showing me places around. She waited for me till 6.00pm and got on with her other evening engagements. However, when I called her up again to reschedule my appointment, she was extremely kind to discuss the matter over t...

She must be in her high teens or touching the twenties. A cute, lean, blonde she is. However, her face was without expressions, she seldom smiled and hardly talked. Her movements were robot-like. She stood behind the restaurant counter painted in black. The dominant theme of the restaurant was black. Black counter, black table-cloths, the pillars which held the glass panels giving us a view of outside were also painted black. She, like all the other waiters wore long black trousers, black shirts with long-sleeves. All that was visible from that black drape was her white expression-like face, dead tired eyes and her short blonde hair. In short, she and her team in that blackish restaurant intensified its melancholic air. My team ate three meals there for five days. We were there in that country which was part of former USSR. Tired after long meeting, we wallked in to the restaurant to be refreshed, but the melancholic air of the restaurant made us more tired and sick even though the foo...