Thoughts for another day

Nov. 21, 2013.

Today's verse: Heb. 10:24. And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:  (KJV)

(Pls. read the above before you read further.  Thanks)

I’ve been taking Bible classes for a small group of Catholics of my parish who probably never handled the Bible, leave alone its teachings.  It’s indeed a new experience for me to teach such people for where do you begin?  Scripture for the newbie is nothing but a massive chest of words and phrases and goodness preached which cannot be done in real life and so on.  So when I teach them, I take the example of Christ and the apostles who showed us how to live this life.  Christ is the Architect and the apostles have built the building and in a sense, we’re the building; but to have our identity intact, aligning with the character of the Architect is absolutely necessary.

Now about these people, the last time I met them, something came up about the Christian way and one of them said, we didn’t know all these things; it’s only now we’re learning.  I was ashamed that people at the senior age they are, had to read Scripture now; but was also pleased that atleast now they are learning.  And some of the things they have learnt are encapsulated in our Scripture today which is ‘let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works’ for that’s the essence of Scripture and that’s what I tell them.

It defines the hallmark of a Christian for it’s only in the teachings of Christ, chiefly in the parable of the Good Samaritan that we learn our duty of love toward men even those we don’t know, that we serve people, whoever they are.  See the power of our Scripture today…it says we’re to provoke one another unto love and to good works.  No matter who it is and no matter how difficult to do, our prime method is in love.  Christ loved us and so we love, not because the other person is lovable; and we do good to others because God gave His life for us, not because they to whom we do good are worthy of our goodness.  Beloved in Christ, this knowledge is enough to turn our faith on its head for remember, faith without works is dead and it’s in what we do that we’ll be judged, not just in what we believed, for belief if not expressed in action is useless like the salt which has lost its saltiness, fit only to be trashed out.