Darkness Has Not Overcome

One of my favorite things to do around Christmas time is to go around the streets and see Christmas lights. There is something about tiny colorful lights twinkling in the darkness of the night.

John, the disciple of Jesus, begins His account with the words “In the beginning”. He then goes on to describe Jesus, starting from the beginning of time to the time He came into the world. To fully understand His description, read John 1:1-14. It is one of the most amazing descriptions of the Messiah. While the whole passage is significant and each line in his account is very useful to understand the characteristic of the Messiah, one of my favorite lines is in verses 4 and 5.

In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:4,5

John testifies about Jesus and says that the life in Jesus was the light of men
(through all ages) and this Light shines in the darkness and that darkness has not overcome it. John wrote this years after Jesus was crucified on the cross. When Jesus was crucified, John was a first hand eye witness to his last breath. But John had also gotten the front row seat to Jesus’ Resurrection. He had encountered the resurrected Christ face to face and spent hours talking to him. So John fully understood what He was writing. He recognized that Jesus was no ordinary man. He was no ordinary teacher. He was no ordinary good guy. The Light in Jesus was no ordinary light. Death and darkness could not over power or extinguish this light. The life in Jesus continues to be the light for mankind. It hasn’t been overcome.

May we recognize the True Light this Christmas, the kind of Light that darkness cannot overcome. And as we receive this Light to illuminate our lives, we ourselves become the “children of Light”.

Immanuel

I love the name Immanuel so much that we picked it as the middle name for our son. Immanuel – God with us. When I was pregnant with my son, our lease at the apartment we were living in was ending and as our family was growing we wanted to buy our own home. So during the pregnancy, we were busy looking for houses. The name Immanuel meant so much to me during that season.

We read about Immanuel in the book of Isaiah and Matthew in the Bible.

The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). Matthew 1:23

God with us. This is no ordinary statement. It means God living with us. One of the things that fascinates me the most is that God was born as a baby in a dirty stable. God, experiencing the lowliest experience. Why did He do that? He would have had better visibility had he been born in the White House today. With 24×7 news channels and social media, He would have been very popular. But God chose to experience the lowliest experience. He was born as a helpless baby. He needed to be fed and He was completely vulnerable. Instead of using the easy route of a white house spot light or a huge fan following on Instagram, His birth was announced to lowly shepherds staying out in the field. God chose to take the humble road. Jesus, God incarnated chose to experience the messy. He lived in the mess and died the most humbling death.

Around Christmas time, while we were still looking for houses, my mind began to race. What if our lease expired and what if we couldn’t find a house that we liked? Where will I take my newborn baby to? There was no crib to lay him in. I just then remembered the Christmas story. Mary, had delivered her baby in a dirty stable. God incarnate chose to be born in one of the dirtiest places, with no crib for a bed. My problem seemed trivial in comparison but it was also comforting to know that He understood my heart…not just because He is omniscient but also because He had experienced it Himself. God with us – God living with us, in our messy, dirty, broken world. His willingness to suffer with humanity gave me a fresh hope, hope that wasn’t about getting a new house before I delivered the baby but hope that he will be with us, in our mess, even if we didn’t find a place to call home.

Fast forward to April, we were able to buy our home and move into it 2 days before the birth of our son. It was a miracle and I know with all my heart, that through it all, Immanuel!

Baggages

As I’m typing this, I’m sitting at the airport, waiting for my flight. I look around and I see people with masked faces, walking past me. And yes you guessed it, everyone is carrying a baggage or more. Some have fancy bags while others have a back pack. Some baggages are on wheels. I just saw a man carrying two bags, one in each hand. Some seem to be at ease carrying their baggage, while for some, the baggage seems to be heavy. These baggages will all be set aside when they reach their destination. That’s the hope. Can you imagine carrying these baggages once you reach home? At home, people shed the weight of the heavy baggages they had been carrying around.

Isn’t that how life is? We all carry our share of baggages. Like travellers, we carry our baggages, no matter how heavy or light they are. However, we constantly move towards our destination, our home, where we look forward to getting rid of our baggages and being free.

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Romans 8:18

Steadfast Love

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever. Psalms 136:1

About 40 people wrote the Bible and all the authors invariably talk about God’s love. Over a period of 1500 years, about 40 people consistently testify to His steadfast love. Among the authors were kings, prophets, nomads, fishermen, noblemen, a tent maker, a physician and historians. Every book within the Bible points to God’s love and how God love intersects with ordinary people. Each author who wrote the words in the Bible attests to his unchanging love. A love so steady that remains forever. A love so pure and passionate. A love that defends, protects and gives good things. A love that disciplines and corrects. A love that is pure and true. A love that is much bigger than our mind can comprehend. How can you begin to understand the love of a God who could have stayed in his throne and yet He emptied himself and took the form of a helpless baby who needed to be fed and taken care of. How can you begin to comprehend the love of a God who created everything, who could have chosen to be born a king, instead chose to come as a humble messiah who had no place to lay his head? How can you begin to understand the love of a God who received continuous praise and adoration from angels and heavenly beings and yet chose to wash the feet of His disciples on the night he was betrayed by one of his own disciple? How can you begin to comprehend that a Holy, righteous and fair God understood that humanity needed His help to be justified and made clean of sin, that He gave himself as a penalty for our sins, upholding both justice and love, upholding both holiness and compassion? He died for us while we were still sinners. We were running away from Him and we were thick headed to fully understand His plan from the beginning. We turned against each other, built walls but as a loving Father, He finished all that He had to finish on the cross. He did it so He could reconcile us to Him, to make us His children, His friends. His steadfast love endures forever and the Bible authors knew what they meant when they wrote those words.

I am not writing the Bible but I am one of the millions of people attesting to His steadfast love in my life. His love pursues me each morning. His love helps me pick up broken pieces and create beauty out of ashes. His loves woos me into deeper love for Him and for the people He created. I keep looking forward to know Him more, know Him better. Like apostle Paul says, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Apostle John says, “God is love”. Yes, He is… and I’ve known Him personally.

As Is

After coming to the US, I learned a new phrase – “As Is”. I first learned it in a furniture store. I had just moved to US after getting married in India and this would be our first home together. We were in the hunt for the perfect furniture for a new home. We found a couch on the furniture store with the tag that read, “As Is”. The cost was way lower than the other items and I was intrigued. My husband enlightened me and said the buyer agrees to take the furniture home for the cost with any and all damages. Simply put, at the reduced price, the buyer agrees to ignore all the flaws.

Isn’t salvation kind of an as is deal? When Jesus died on that cross, he agreed to pay the price to purchase the salvation of flawed humans. He loved us when we were still sinners, still broken and damaged. He agreed to ignore the flaws in us and paid the cost. However, it didn’t cost him less. It cost everything! He got an “as is” deal for the full price. That’s the good news for us though! He doesn’t expect us to be perfect before we come to Him. Come as is, he says. We definitely got the better end of the deal!

PS: If you are someone who has wondered if you have gone too far to be accepted by God, know this – You are still loved by Him and He deeply desires that you will come back to Him. Don’t believe me? Read Romans 5:8.

But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Roman 5:8

Eternity in Heart

Every time you lose someone you love, it’s a pause from the normal. Grief allows us to boldly ask the bigger questions – what is the meaning of life. What matters most? On a normal day, we may not give a passing thought to anything other than today. We run from one thing to another in a mad rush to accomplish big things.. But in the midst of grief, a deeper question arises. What is the meaning of life? I believe no one is an exception to these thoughts.

The writer of Eclessiastes says

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. Eclessiastes 3:11

Our soul knows there’s more, or at the very least, it wonders if there could be more. However, its often easier to brush that feeling aside. Life is busy and there is much to achieve, much to accomplish. Who has the time to understand the meaning of life? “Life is too short”, we say and march on to do our next “important” thing. But what if this short life isn’t the only thing worth paying attention to? What if there is more and what if what’s more is much bigger than the life we live here? What then?

God has put eternity into man’s heart. Nothing we accomplish can bring us purpose and meaning unless it aligns with the eternity that God has planted into our hearts. Grief is good in a away, it allows us to pause and recognize the inevitable. May we never ignore what our soul needs – may we always be mindful of eternity. May we walk closely to the Shepherd of our Souls.

In Jesus’ own words,

And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Mark 8:36

Masterpiece

Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.
Isaiah 64:8 NIV

https://isaiah.bible/isaiah-64-8

We are often quick to recognize how valuable our life is but we often forget who the author of that life is. Isaiah, one of the most popular prophets in the Bible recognizes God’s power because he had seen God’s glory, first hand. When you read the book of Isaiah in the Bible, you see magnificent dreams and visions. All of his visions were awe inspiring and no wonder Isaiah recognized God’s power and His sovereignty. Isaiah believed humans were the clever work of a magnificent God.

This passage leads to the question- where does our worth and value come from? Is it defined by what we have accomplished and how successful we are? If our value is defined by who we are, we must recognize that our perceived success and accomplishment last only for a time. Eventually they lose value and someone else becomes more powerful. If our worth and value is dependant on who we are and if we look for value within us – our inner self, we will be quickly disappointed. Isaiah recognized this and He wrote, “we are the work of your hand”. In our quest for independence, freedom and self reliance, we cannot reject the one who formed us and sustains us. The truth that we did not create ourselves and that we do not have to pull ourselves up when we mess up is true freedom. This journey called life wasn’t meant to prove whose the toughest or the strongest or the one with most grit. Life was meant to be lived in union with our Creator. When we break that union, we hurt ourselves in the process. We lose meaning and purpose for life. We are God’s masterpieces. When He created us, He created us with divine purposes, unique to each individual. When we align our hearts with His, we understand these plans. Would we allow our Maker, the Potter, to shape us and mold us?

Taste and See


My kids aren’t often interested in trying new kinds of food. When I tell them the menu, their first response is usually, I don’t like it. But after pursuing them to just try it, they usually take a nibble and sometimes it becomes their favorite.

In today’s time and age, I’ve heard people say that they don’t want to do anything with God. For them, God is either irrelevant and outdated or Jesus’ teachings are good to hear but not practical to follow. For some, the name “Jesus” is offensive because they’ve put Jesus in a religious and/or cultural box. The sad thing though is that most people come to this conclusing without really “tasting”. 

The Bible invites us in Psalms 34:8 to “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” That means, not forming opinions based on vague biases and imperfect humans but to personally taste it. If your faith or lack thereof is dependant on faulty humans like me, there’s obviously going to be disappointment and in many cases aversion. Taste and see also means that social media battles and heresays cannot be the basis on which we “judge” God. Taste and See! Its not just an invitation but also a challenge!

Come to God with a heart of genuine surrender, with an intention to personally know Him and understand Him. Be willing to lay down your prejudices and allow Him to take the lead. Pick up that Bible and read about the life of Jesus. Read it in its entirety, even if some pages feel boring and unexciting. The Bible is the Word of God and what better way to know Him than to read His words. If you think that the Bible is not authentic, that it’s old and untrustworthy, consider this – the Bible is the most textually citicized book in this world. Critics and literary experts throughout the world agree to the textual authenticity of this book. This book is more reliable than Shakespear and yet we have no problem reading Shakespear’s work. The Bible is worth the read, just from a literary point of view but the Bible’s invitation to taste and see the Lord isn’t about literary or intellectual acumen. While the Bible is the starting point to knowing God, a simple reading or following rigid reading plan isn’t what the invitation means. Its an invitation to relationship with your Maker. The Bible isn’t the end but is the means to experiencing the heart of God.

Taste and See! Its an invitation to anyone willing to understand God’s heart, His love and His sacrifice! Taste and see that the Lord is Good!

Count The Cost

In the past, I had somehow come to think that devotion to God was a means to get good things in life. A good career, a great family, lots of money and a fancy lifestyle. Don’t get me wrong. These are sometimes good and can be benefitial to us and others around us but there is a problem to this kind of thinking… the number #1 problem being that this is not what God promises. Problem #2 is when we see someone suffering, we start thinking they have sinned and rightly deserve the suffering. If you read the gospel and Bible in its entirety, it becomes evident that Jesus did not promise an easy life. While its tempting to always expect comfort, riches and blessings and favor, in return for our devotion to God, the Bible very clearly says that trouble and pain and even loss don’t simply vanish by following God. If someone tells you that all your problems will end simply by believing in Jesus, its a lie. Jesus says being His disciple isn’t easy and that there is a cost to living a life walking in His footsteps. While it is true that salvation is a free gift made available to us through the sacrifice Jesus offered on the cross and we can never earn salvation by our good deeds or religious rituals, it is also true that being Jesus’ disciple isn’t a walk in the park. Jesus says “count your cost before following me”. There is a cost to following Him. We are called to take up the cross and follow him.
Following Jesus will always come with a cost(if it doesn’t, then its quite possible we have been following a pseodo-Jesus) but there is evidence that it is completely worth it. Irrespective of how successful our life looks like, we have a far greater treasure in Christ. Apostle Paul says,

I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.
Philippians 3:7‭-‬9 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/php.3.7-9.NLT

Apostle Paul says that even popular things like keeping the religious laws and rituals pale in comparison to the matchless grace offered by Christ.

Questions to ponder after meditating the scripture
Are you willing to count the cost? What holds you back?
Are you willing to lay yourself at the cross to be like Jesus, even when it gets really uncomfortable or are you merely affiliated to a religious faith and act however you want, disregarding the cost?
Are you using faith as a means to get good things or are you really following the one you claim to follow? 

What’s #1?

Growing up, I often heard my grandma quoting Matthew 6:33

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

I’ve heard her quote this verse so often that I’ve often wondered what it meant for me. I did not fully understand the meaning till I started living my life on my own, away from family and known environment, my first business trip to the United Kingdom. Living in a foreign country all by myself, making small and big decisions that would define my future was eye opening in many ways. I had all the freedom to do what I wanted and there really wasn’t anybody to ask me why. Up till the point, faith was part living in a community. I did what everyone did. Not a bad thing but when I was alone, I had a choice that wouldn’t be influenced by anyone. Very early during my stay in the UK, I made seeking God a priority. Be it finding a bank to open an account or finding a place to live or finding a church, I would invite God to take control and He always gladly did. I used to walk two miles everyday, up and down, to work. Those walks were key in my spiritual growth. I remember talking to Jesus, as I knew He was right there with me. I can still remember some of my prayers during those walks and the way they were eventually answered, not always as I wanted but always better than what I could have imagined. 1.5 years in Marlow, United Kingdom will always remain an important part of my spiritual journey.

Around the same time, I also began understanding, at a much deeper level, the meaning of Matthew 6:33. If you read the verse in context, we see Jesus talking to the crowds on how not worry about tomorrow but to focus on His kingdom and being righteous, today. He promises that God will provide for our needs if we will make His kingdom and righteousness a priority. This does not just mean physical provision. When God deals with us, He deals with our whole being – our body, mind and Spirit. When we set our eyes on Him and live with the priority that He sets before us, He takes care of our needs. I have been through good and bad seasons but He has provided what I need through every season. Sometimes a physical need is met. Other times its strength and courage to carry on through rough waters. Still other times its correction when I’m walking down the wrong path. Sometimes it a secret desire that comes true and sometimes its a dream redefined to make it better than what I could gave dreamed of. In sorrow and grief He has walked closer than a friend and what seems sometimes impossible is met with grace and comfort.

What’s the priority for today? I’ve come to recognize that the more we plan and control and worry about a meriad of things, the difficult it gets to prioritize on God’s kingdom and His righteousness. Shake of the weight of tomorrow. Also shake of the weight from yesterday. Set your eyes on Jesus today, the author and perfector of our faith. Lean into Him and let the intimacy with your Saviour lead you to righteousness in your word and deed. Ask Him your questions. Tell Him your doubts and wait for Him to answer you. Wait quietly for He speaks! And as we do this journey with our Creator, He will meet all our needs, including the breath that we need to breathe.