Paulson Post

We have never experienced love that is comparable to God's. Human love is conditional.  Unattractive people are hard to love. Even though it was my first visit, the lady at the post office counter greeted me with a very friendly smile. I visited that town after 30 long years. She acted as if she is meeting a friend, but her appearance scared me so that I did not greet her or smile back. The left side of her face was charred, and she had lost the left eye. Her gums and teeth were visible since the left portion of her lips were burnt too. Her smile was frightening.  A young man, envious of her relationship with another person, threw sulfuric acid at her face, disfiguring her. As a result, her real lover abandoned her since she was no longer as beautiful as she was before the accident. It turned out that we were friends at school thirty years ago, which explains her friendly smile. At school, I remember her as a vibrant and winsome girl. One of the conditions we set for pe...

'For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light' Psalm 36:9.   When David sang to God, 'For with you is the fountain of life', he was not thinking of life in the ordinary sense of that word. Similarly when he said, 'in your light do we see light', he had a different idea about light also. Life is not just a mere existence. Generally speaking, we associate life with the state of creatures to have an existence. When an animal dies it's life is taken from it. However, the word life means more than mere existence. Life also means that vitality and vigour with which we lead our lives. Two people join us at the party. We say one is lifeless because she is not enjoying our company or contributing anything to enhance the enjoyment that we are all looking forward to. Maybe she is a party pooper by her presence. The other person is altogether different. We may also even say that she is the 'life of the party.' She not only keep the...

Joy is the hallmark of Christian life. Jesus mentions a long list of adverse human circumstances and concludes, ‘rejoice and be glad.’ Each of these adverse circumstances he introduces with the word, blessed.’ Matthew 5:2-12. The word used for ‘blessed’ can also be translated as ‘happy.’ Some translation have it so. It is the ‘transcendent happiness or religious joy.’ So blessed are those who mourn, blessed are those who are persecuted, and so on .... We get a sharper picture of the adversities in the parallel passage in Luke 6:20-23.  Luke's version includes poverty, hunger, weeping, being hated, etc... There too Jesus sums it up saying, 'rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for your reward is great in heaven.' Followers of Jesus are destined to be happy in all circumstances that their earthly existence throws at them. The reason for this transcendent joy is that they have a larger vision of life. They can see life that stretches to eternity, beyond this transient ...

Paul's final exhortations to the church in Thessalonica poses yet another difficulty. He said, '... Give thanks in all circumstances....' (1 Thess 5:18). However, all circumstances are not really good to be thankful. So, how can we be thankful irrespective of what befalls us? Ratna and her husband were thrilled when she came to know that she is going to have a baby. It was a long wait since they got married. They are indeed thankful to God and to their little prayer-group who upheld them in their prayers. However, the scenario changed in a few weeks time. She had visited her doctor to discuss the recent scan report. To her shock, the doctor told her that the baby to be born may have Down's Syndrome. He added that it is better to abort now before it is too late. However, they decided to keep the baby. Joy now turned into weeping. They both roll in their bed sleepless and imagining the challenges of caring for a baby with Down's Syndrome for the rest of their life...

‘Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.’ (1 Thess 5:16-18). During my last medical check-up, the cardiologist put me through a treadmill test. He asked me to keep moving until he stopped the machine. For some reason, I pressed the stop button after a while since I felt uncomfortable. Probably, I was wearing the wrong shoe on that day. The exhortation to pray without ceasing is to keep praying for something until we receive the signal to stop. This is important because most of us give up before our prayers reach their proper end. Why do people give up prayers? There could be various reasons. Discouragement is the main reason. We keep praying and there seems to be no result for a long time so we drop praying. This is tied to a person's level of patience because discouragement sets in for different people at different periods. Some, with longer patience may go on for longer periods b...

At least some part of Paul's final exhortations to the church in Thessalonica is quite challenging; especially the one in 1 Thess 5:16-18. 'Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.' Though challenging, we cannot run away from it, because we are bound by it. It is the will of God for us, or what God demands from us. Is it possible to 'rejoice always'? There are circumstances in life, actually most of the time, which drives us to sadness and sorrow. Everyone goes through disappointments, sorrow, and sadness even though for brief periods. Though the good Lord may spare us for long and deep valleys of depression, rejoicing always includes those brief periods as well.  Rejoicing always, in spite of long and short spells of sadness is possible only if we take it as the command of God. It is not a suggestion but imperative on us. We are under order to rejoice! We have no choice other ...

' I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.' John 16:33 (ESV). 'These things' that Jesus told the disciples were horrid. He told them that he is parting company with them. He said the world that they have to live will persecute them.  However, what is the purpose of telling them all these things that will happen to them? Jesus' reason is clear--that they may find peace in him. In a world that is friendly to them, they will have peace. But that will be the peace like the one we will have when there is no conflict. However, when there are conflicts, then the source of peace must be something different. In the midst of their conflict with a hostile world, the disciples have to seek Jesus for peace. The reason for peace in Jesus while living in conflict with the world is that Jesus has overcome the world. The ultimate victory doesn't belong to the wor...