Thoughts for another day

October 16, 2006

Today's verse: Pro. 21:31. The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. (KJV)

A long time ago, I was working in Dubai where I met a friend who had been rather successful in his career. Over a cup of tea, he recalled all he had achieved and how he established himself. The conversation only veered to himself and how great he was. How he was a self-made man and that he had needed no one to prop him up. How he himself sketched his upward scale and moved toward his goals. It’s all fine in that, there’s nothing wrong in recounting your success and how hard you worked in achieving it. But for us Christians, the criticality is: how much of Christ is there in it!

The world has its own philosophies and ways and many times they go against the ways of God. For e.g. it’s usually by trampling someone else that you reach further. God will never advise it but the world advocates that as the only way of success. And so because of our obsession to be successful in the world, we go by its ways and do all kinds of things that are painful to others. We may reach the top but frankly the view from there is not good because of the harshness through which the journey began and went by. Failure slowly creeps in and we cannot handle it. Sickness comes and we become vegetables; completely at the mercy of God like it happened to the friend I’ve spoken of, above. Paralyzed. Completely immobile. That’s when the senses take over. When a friend of Caesar was dying, Caesar was filled with grief. He ran into his private room and cried, telling himself, ‘what is the use of being such a mighty emperor if I cannot add a moment of life for my friend?’

My friend, in your move in life, add Jesus as your measuring stick. You may have everything ready to make your best move but do you have Jesus? Remember, its all worthless without Jesus. For you may chart the course, which you need to follow, but whether you reach there is up to Him, exactly as today’s verse tells us.