From the Stars to God’s Story

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer” (Psa 19:14). The starry sky over a village on a dark day is a treat for the eyes, but the city's sky, polluted with light from automobiles, street lights, and high-rise buildings, dims this view. Stunned by this display, the psalmist lying on his back outside his house muses: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psa 19:1). In the day, he watches the sun rising in the East and moving to the West, lightening and warming the earth (Psa 19:4—6). The creation is a witness to the splendour of its creator.

The psalmist's musings stray to another revelation of the creator of the universe in the second part of the Psalm (Psa 19:7—14). It is the Bible, the revelation of God’s will, that he gave to his people to know him and follow him. “The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple” (Psa 19:7). The Scripture, where God’s will is revealed, does far more than what the sun, moon, and stars could do. While the constellation lights up, warms, and makes life possible on this blue planet, real life with God is only possible through God's Word. The Word of God imparts wisdom (v. 7), brings gladness to the human heart (v.8), and is most desirable. “More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb” Psa 19:10). It is more desirable than scanning the starry sky or enjoying the cool of the cheesy moon or warming up in the Sun on a beech. The Word of God makes life with God richer as we ponder on the truths in its pages. Nature reveals God, but the Word of God goes deeper. It shows how to get closer to the creator as it guides us in the path of God by warning when our feet stray away from the path of life (Psa 19:11). By tracing the journey of his thoughts from the creation to the Word of the creator, the Psalmist invites us to delve into the Word and cherish it to grow in wisdom.

The Days of Antipas

"The days of Antipas" means not only a period of persecution but a period of perseverance as well. It signifies the days of believers who withstood the pressures from outside to surrender. In the church in the city of Pergamum, there were some people who remained faithful to Jesus in the days of severe persecution. Apostle John calls these days of persecution "the day of Antipas" (Rev. 2:13). The Antipas mentioned here should not be confused with Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great. Herod Antipas was a wicked ruler whom Jesus called "fox". He is the one who offered the head of John the Baptist on a silver platter to his daughter. He might have tried to kill Jesus and presided over Jesus' trial. However, the Antipas mentioned in Revelation 2 was the bishop of Pergamum, a pagan city in the first century AD. The name means "against all." There is a great con trast in the names -- Herod was against all that was good, however, Antipas th...

The Lonely Jungle Babbler

Every day it comes, and pecks at the glass panel of the window of my study. It is a Jungle Babbler, a very common bird in the Indian subcontinent. It dances flying up and down and fluttering its wings. Sometimes, three or four times a day it repeats this ritual. I thought it is trying to get into my room or fly through as it can see the other side. But why does it keep coming, can't it make out after three or four attempts that it can't fly through? I told my Neighbor, whom I consider an expert on birds, about this winged visitor. She explained that the babbler is pecking at its own reflection, thinking that it is another bird. I thought of verifying her suggestion. The following day I kept the window half open, drawing one panel fully open. The babbler came as usual. Perched on the window, looked into my room through the open panel but did not enter the room or peck. But it moved to the side of the window where there is glass and started pecking on the gl...

The Conquering Grace

Grace of God is hard to define. When I was making baby steps in Christian faith, mentors told me that ‘grace is unmerited favor.’ I found that helpful. But as I continued to experience God’s grace as I grew, I found that this definition is inadequate to express all that God does in my life. Now, I have come to realize that grace of God is such a thing that eludes any definition. Grace, as I understand now is what God alone and no human can do in our lives. It comes in various colors, shapes and sizes! John, the gospel writer seems to have understood the multifarious nature of grace that he talks about the ‘fullness of grace’ and ‘grace upon grace’ (John 1:17). Or the New Living Translation puts it: ‘From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.’ These expressions mean that grace is not just one-sided reality but a multi-faceted reality. Its fullness is beyond our comprehension just as God evades our understanding. One of the rare but ...

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