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OF ELECT AND SELECT
The International media in recent times has been abuzz with US Presidential Election News. It has been said that courtesy
globalization the World today resembles a spider’s web. Now the unique thing about the spider’s web is that you touch any portion
of it the whole of it starts vibrating. Now the result of US Elections, if Trump triumphs for instance would have an impact on
not only lives of people living in America but on the economy of other Nations. Will his well-“trump”eted views about “packing off”
many of other nations who are employed from Minnesota to Florida (the US equivalent of Kashmir to Kanyakumari)
which are already doing the rounds become a grim reality? Hypothecating a bit more pessimistically...would the Indian economy (Hey, is there not a
Mini-India out there in the land of Uncle Sam?) be able to absorb the huge “retrenched Indian workforce” forced out off US on the
grounds that they are “stealing American jobs”? Ditto with Chinese and Japanese economies??? Boy...no wonder
many of us are awaiting with the bated breath the outcome of the D-Day (Nov 8th, 2016).
Now toeing my Master’s line of connecting to his audience by using relevant topics
(He would speak about Living waters with the Samaritan lady beside a well, call the would-be
World shakers beside the Galilean sea as “Fishers of men”), Yours truly feels inspired to select
Christ’s ministry related topics for meditation which would revolve around contemporary hot topic E.L.E.C.T (acronym please),
with Electioneering lingo thrown in for good measure. So here goes…
E-Easy to understand manifesto
Heard of a party with complicated manifesto designed to confuse people’s mind? No, the name of the game is Keep it simple silly
(KISS principle...Ladies and Gentlemen)! Closer to home...manifesto of an Earthy Nitin-Lallu Combo for
instance in the rustic Bihar Elections recently was “Galli, Galli main Pani aur Bijjli aur Wifi Bhi”
(In every lane there would be not only water, electricity but also Internet connectivity).
Christ’s “party” manifesto even as He launched the campaign “Save Souls” was as simple as it comes “Repent, for the
Kingdom of God is at hand”
(Matt 4:17),
reinforced by Apostle Peter on the day the Church was born
(Acts 2:38).
The question which would follow on hearing the word “Repent” is who should “repent”? Let the Scripture itself give the answer
“Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ
for the forgiveness of your sins”
(Acts 2:38).
Really everyone, including the respected ones’ of the society with no police record? Yes,
for the Scripture says “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
(Romans 3:23).
In connection with the fallen Adamic nature, all of us have inherited; I heard an insightful, humorous which goes thus…
There was bright student in school, who had a problem pronouncing the word “Electricity”, for it would roll out of his
mouth as “ElectriKITTY”. Now his sympathetic, empathetic class teacher with an intention to help, wanted matters to be
set right with proper training at his ward’s home itself. So the teacher went to his pupil’s home and explained the issue
to the composed, well-educated, highly-placed (in society) Dad who after a patient hearing sighed “You see that is not
my son’s fault, it is beyond his capaKITTY to pronounce the word electriKITTY properly”. Just as the teacher was
recoiling from a shock, in walked the erudite grandfather who had overheard the conversation from a nearby room “ Sir”,
the grey gent pleaded “Please do not make publiKITTY, about this problem running in our family for generations”.
We smile. Are only speech “impairments” inherited from our parents? Is not the deep down sin problem
also “transmitted” which all began in the Garden of Eden, when our first parents sank their teeth into the forbidden?
No wonder the Scripture says “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is?” Was not the Saviour sent specifically for performing the much-needed heart–transplantation
operation
(Ezekiel 36:26)?
The phrase “Kingdom of God” (read primarily righteousness meaning right relationship with God-
Romans 14:17)
which is oh-so-near reaffirms not only the proximity of salvation (read Eternal life-
Romans 10:8-10),
but also that of abundant life
(John 10:10)
which the Saviour guarantees whereby with the Holy Spirit indwelling us
(Gal 5:22-23),
we can experience in full measure the joys of Heaven right here on Earth
(Romans 14:17).
Hey, not a sneak peek into what Heaven would be but actually scaling the peak of ethereal joys,
which cannot be adequately described in words but has to be experienced personally to be believed!
In other words if the FIRST Adam lost out on the Kingdom of God, then the LAST Adam (another name for Christ-
1 Cor 15:45) came to restore it!!!
Have you “voted”
(read accepted His manifesto) for Christ’s party? Have you parted ways with self-power (number one enemy which prevents a
sinner from coming under Redemptive Grace) in trying to score over sin? If so, it would be PARTY TIME IN HEAVEN
(Luke 15:7/
Luke 24)!!!
It was so in Heaven on October 16th, 1983 when as a teenager addicted to several, debilitating habits Yours Truly made
this prayer sincerely with a repentant heart “Lord Jesus, I am a sinner. I believe that you died on the cross for my sins.
Forgive my sins and come into my life as my Lord and personal Saviour”. The Heavenly joy and peace that flooded my heart
when I made this prayer needs to be experienced to be believed. It was then I realized that being born merely in a
Christian family and having names such as Matthew, Mark, Luke and John does not make one a Christian,
just as a baby born in a motor garage for instance does not grow to become a Motor car. An individual
in contrite spirit needs to accept Jesus sincerely as his/her personal Saviour to have foretaste of Heavenly
joys in this side of the Eternity
(Eph 2:6)
and it’s full measure thereof on the other side
(1 Cor 2:9).
L-Loyalty
After a terrific experience of enjoying the Heavenly joys on accepting Christ, if someone (God-forbid) wants to defect back to
Satan’s party, then the divine Anti-defection law would be invoked and a terrible punishment would be round the corner
(Heb 10:26-31/
2 Peter 2:20-21)!
Remember, what happened to the Redeemed Jews (from Egyptian slavery) who wanted to return back (how tragic) to the
very place of their bondage, from which they had sought deliverance
(Heb 3:15-19)?
Christ calls for total loyalty
(Matt 10:37-39),
so much so one Biblical Scholar remarked
“One is ready to live for Christ, only when one is ready to die for Him”.
If we indulge in “cross voting” even after the whip has been issued, there would be nothing to look forward to except
severe whipping
(Heb 10:26-27)!
E- Easy to understand Party symbol
Just as the Party’s manifesto has to adhere to KISS principle, it’s logo too has to be kept simple for people to understand,
otherwise it can kiss its chances of getting elected goodbye. If the Leader personally identifies himself with
the Party symbol, there would be no doubt whatsoever in any voter’s mind as to what the Party represents.
Any doubt on Christ’s party symbol? CROSS on which the peerless Leader laid down His life atoning for World’s sins’
ladies and gentlemen.
The Cross of Christ was in the middle of two crosses not only on the first Good Friday (enemies of Christ wanted to
insult Him all the more, by assigning the middle cross to Him, for in the middle cross was crucified the biggest criminal,
whenever three people were crucified together) but figuratively speaking in the middle of two groups of people throughout History from the
First Good Friday onwards. If in the middle cross was the Saviour dying
FOR
the sins of the World, the cross of the
unrepentant thief has all along represented that group of people who preferred to die
IN
their sins, while the cross
of the penitent thief has throughout history symbolized humble souls who are willing to die
TO
their sins by accepting the Saviour
(Luke 23:32-43).
You see the “Party symbol” is very easy to understand. Having accepted Christ,
can we testify like Apostle Paul did
“As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.”
(Gal 6:14).
The Cross since last 2000 years has been calling everyone at crossroads of life for deliverance from the weight of worries
caused by unconfessed sins
(Matt 11:28).
Why delay, go affix your voting seal on the Cross!
C- Canvassing
Heard of an election in a democracy with no canvassing? Hey Christ’s Party member, when did you last “canvass for your party”
(read did evangelism) furthering its cause of winning “more souls to the Kingdom”?
Before we go any further, let’s apply the interrogative, “why at all should we canvass for the cause
of Christ”? Is to merely increase the Christian population and enjoy the privileges which go along with one being part of a
majority community? NO, NOT AT ALL! We who have experience HIS POWER (in saving us from sin) and HIS INEXPRESSIBLE, HEAVENLY JOY 24*7
(1 Peter 1:8)
ought not to keep this GOOD NEWS THAT HE CAN DO LIKEWISE IN EVERYONE’S LIFE TO OURSELVES
(Acts 4:20)!!!
Talk of hitherto poor, unemployed citizens of a Nation now made rich by the novel employment Governmental schemes acclaiming
from rooftops, the wondrous change a New Government in power has wrought in their lives…
Are we going to fault these folks for appreciating the said Government publicly?
Didn’t somebody say that GRACE is actually God’s Riches (poured into the lives of poor languishing ones’) At Christ’s Expense
(2 Cor 8:9)?
While Mass evangelism (organizing huge public meetings) may be one way to canvass (sole preserve of the gifted souls from
whom the Lord expects a lot –
Luke 12:48)
for the cause of Christ, personal evangelism is an universally acclaimed way of sharing the Gospel, effectively.
Personal evangelism concerns sharing Christ with primarily two groups of people. People whom we may come across only
once in a while and people with whom, we interact often. Firstly personal evangelism with those co-passengers we travel in
bus/train or plane (Hey, we may meet them only once in our lifetime) or who are sitting beside us waiting for Doctor’s
appointment or waiting for their turn of hair cut in a Barber shop involves (in the limited time available) simply sharing with
love and respect what Christ means to you (not only about His coming into this World but into your life and His faithfulness in your
life thence-
Acts 8:25)
after developing a rapport with them using common points of interest
(I Cor 9:22-23/
1 Peter 3:15).
While we cannot do much about their final choice and reaction, we need to prayerfully undertake this work hoping that their reaction
would be the one of the Ethiopian Eunuch
(Acts 8:36).
Personal evangelism on the other hand with the unsaved family members/co-students/office colleagues/Business partners involves more than words.
Our life-style aimed at doing everything for God’s Glory
(1 Cor 10:31/
Gal 2:20)
ought to do all the preaching. Oh yes, whatever be our sincere efforts, the final result of convicting a person is purely the work of the
Holy Spirit
(1 Cor 12:3).
Nine times out of ten only those whose hearts had been rendered “soft and good”
(Matt 13:8)
by some problems (emotional, social, spiritual, physical or financial) would respond in the manner a sick person would enthusiastically respond on being
introduced to a Doctor who carries with him a panacea for all ailments. These lot would not only respond but would love Him deeply out
of deep gratitude thence on being delivered
(Luke 7:47).
On the other hand, those who wrongly assume to their eternal detriment that all is good on all fronts in their lives (who is not a sinner-
I Kings 8:46/
Romans 3:23)
would never realize the value of a Doctor...opps sorry...I mean a Saviour
(Matt 9:12-13)
sent into the World to die for our sins. Hey...Jesus is the only hero who was born to die for villains like me with nature of a “rakshasha”
(yes, I had that demonic nature inside of me before the salvation experience on Oct 16th , 1983
(Rom 5:8-10).
All said and done, whatever be the response of the “prospective Electorate” for Christ... I repeat the question…”when did you last
canvass for the cause of Christ…
T- Triumph
Pray tell me reader “What was common in the Election results of Delhi and Bihar of 2015”? LANDSLIDE VICTORY for the Regional Parties
(Sorry Arvind...you have not yet forayed into National Politics)! Now consider this Scripture portion, which applies to every
Christian equipped with Christ’s power wrestling with the dark forces
overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.” –
Romans 8:37
(the key operative word being overwhelming)
Never depend on your fallible strength to secure a victory over sin, that is a recipe for certain failure
(remember an overconfident Peter denying Christ –
Matt 26:31-33 /
Matt 69-75) but depend on Christ
(Zech 4:6).
WHEN IT COMES TO SCORING AN EMPHATIC VICTORY OVER SIN, THE ISSUE IS NOT YOU ARE TRYING OR NOT. RATHER THE MAIN ISSUE
IS YOU ARE YOU TRYING ON YOUR OWN TO DO THE SAME OR ARE YOU ALSO RESTING ON THE SAVIOUR POWER? When you are prayerfully
relying on the power of Christ, mark my words…you will not only secure victory over sin
(stage 1 of Christian life) but you would also be greatly used by the Master in His service thence. Your opponents?
Well, take my word they would lose their deposit…
(Romans 16:20)!!!
Yours in His service,
Suresh Manoharan
An Unworthy Servant
Ps… All those whose heart the Lord is touching say this Prayer right where you are…”Father, I confess I am a Sinner.
Cloth me with Your Priceless Robes of Righteousness which Your Son Jesus Christ has purchased for me in the Cross.
Fill my heart with the joy of Your Spirit. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
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