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In more than three decades of my Christian life, I have been blest by 2 types of Daily devos'
(matter not exceeding 500 words) in universal Christian literature. Not only those Devos'
which have a different theme everyday but also the ones which revolve around a certain
theme over a period of time, say a fortnight, have richly edified me. In fact, both
styles have their own inherent advantages. If the former style caters to the varying
spiritual needs of a christian from day-to-day, the latter aims 'to ground'
a child of God in a certain subject in order he derives the full benefits of the
deep insightful study of a certain topic, spread over a fixed span of time.
In my Daily devo page, I have consciously tried to go in for 'a blend of both the
styles' whereby within a constant theme, I would be aiming to focus on different
facets of it which admittedly is a closer imitation of the 'Constant theme' style
than the 'Varying topics' one.
Having dwelt on the topics
- “The Christian journey”
- “ The Conquest of Canaan” and the
- “Lent season”.
in the previous months, now in the months of April and May, considering that
post resurrection of Christ (one of our concluding themes’ you would remember
in the meditations of March, was Resurrection), birth of the Church was a
landmark event in Biblical history, I want to cast the spotlight on the Book of
Acts (which records the birth and growth of the Church). This would ensure to a large
extent continuity of thought albeit under the ambit of new subject.
Once again, let me wish you a happy and an edifying read…
Suresh Manoharan
May 8th
ONE BODY
No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church.
And we are members of his body. As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife,
and the two are united into one. This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way
Christ and the church are one. –
Ephesians 5: 29-32
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Yesterday, we had concluded our meditation with a lead-up thought,
why did our Lord whilst addressing Saul of Tarsus (yet to become Apostle Paul) ask him pointedly “Saul, Saul,
why are you persecuting me”? Had He used the words, “Christians” “My followers” or “the Church”
it would have still carried the same connotation , isn’t it? So why did our Saviour frame the question, the way He did?
The answer to this question is as simple as profound… as the afore-captioned Scripture portion so amply illustrates.
THE CHURCH AND CHRIST ARE ONE. THEY CANNOT BE SEPARATED AND BE SPOKEN OF AS TWO DIFFERENT ENTITIES. If someone honors the
Church (body of believers’/Christians’), he or she honors Christ, by the same token if someone persecutes the Church,
he/she is persecuting JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF. Period.
Taken to its logical conclusion, it simply means that our Lord is not some distant, insensitive leader of those who have
trusted Him rather He is ONE WHO REJOICES AND SUFFERS RIGHT ALONG WITH HIS FOLLOWERS. Now, is not such an empathetic
leader worthy of praise? Oh yes…Hallelujah!
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, it is so comforting and reassuring to know that You are right alongside us in our
“highs” and “lows”, in our “joys” and “pain” feeling just as we feel. We praise Thee for being such an
empathetic leader. AMEN.
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