Snails of the World

¹⁵ Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; ¹⁶ for all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷ And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever. (I John 2:15-17)

One bright and beautiful morning, on the bank of a gorgeous lake, a crane was searching for snails. Snails are the best food for the cranes. The crane scratched and pulled the weeds to catch hold of the tasty and yummy snails! All of a sudden his eyes caught sight of a beautiful swan wading on the lake waters. Its wings were pure white and were glazing in the glare of the sun. The crane kept on staring at the swan for some time, as he had never seen such a beautiful creature before. He went near it and asked eagerly, “Hello Mister! Who are you and where are you from?” the swan replied, “I’m a swan and I’m from a place called heaven”. “Oh! Heaven! How does that place look like?” the crane exclaimed. The swan answered, “You can imagine how beautiful that place would be by looking at me.” Then, he further explained about all that is found in heaven, its splendor and glory. He then asked the crane, “Would you like to be a part of it?” The crane was very much excited, but as a second thought came to his mind, he asked, “do you find snails in heaven?” then the swan replied “of course not!” the crane said, “oh! Then I don’t care going to heaven!” Oh what a pity! Swapping the splendor and glory of heaven with dirty snails? This is just an old story, but how true it is! Can you relate this story to your life? Let us see what John the apostle says.

John addresses this text to the house churches in and around Ephesus, a famous metropolitan city in Greco-Roman World that has all the luxury and pleasures of the time. In such a context, these verses come as an important warning to the strong and loyal churchgoers to stay in guard and shun away from all the yummy looking snails of the World. He admonishes saying, do not love the things of the World for they will surely affect your eternal destiny. Those who love the World don’t have the love of God in them. Jesus also says, no one can serve two masters. And John moves on to say that the World and its desires are passing away but those who do the Will of the Lord live forever. You cannot have the things of the World and heaven together. You can either go for snails or heaven. What do you choose today? The perishable snails of the World or the eternal and glorious heaven? Choice is yours.

May God help us to have the Love of God that results in doing the Will of God which leads to eternal life! Amen. 

Blessings

Daniel Solomon Raju 

Eternity's-eye View

“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” Philippians 3:8

 Dr. Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ International, tells a story that comes from the sinking of the Titanic.

A frightened woman found her place in a lifeboat that was about to be lowered into the raging North Atlantic.  She suddenly thought of something she needed, so she asked permission to return to her stateroom before they cast off.  She was granted three minutes and told that if she were gone any longer, they would have to leave without her.  

The woman ran across the deck that was already slanted at a dangerous angle.  She raced through the gambling room, past all the money that had rolled to one side, ankle deep.  She came to her stateroom and quickly pushed aside her diamond rings and expensive bracelets and necklaces as she reached to the shelf above her bed.  She grabbed three small oranges.  She quickly found her way back to the lifeboat and got in.  

That seems incredible, because thirty minutes earlier she would not have chosen a whole crate of oranges over even the smallest diamond.  But death had boarded the Titanic.  One blast of its awful breath had transformed all values.  Instantaneously, priceless things had become worthless.  Worthless things had become priceless.  And in that moment she preferred three small oranges to a crate of diamonds.

Oh, dear friends, when we look at things in eternity’s-eye view, our perspective and values totally change.  Most humans have their head in the sand of this old earth and cannot see the starry heaven above in all its splendor.  

Apostle Paul is very clear when he writes. He lost whatever was gain to him personally apart from God. Certainly Paul had a great reputation as a scholar (Acts 26:24) and a religious leader. He was proud of his Jewish heritage and his religious achievements. All of these things were valuable to him; but he measured these "treasures" against what Jesus Christ had to offer, and he realized that all he held dear was really nothing but "refuse" compared to what he had in Christ. Apostle Paul looked at things from Eternity’s-Eye view. So, he considered the knowledge of Christ and Fellowship with Christ as priceless when compared to the reputation of the world.

In a sense, the Titanic symbolizes the world, which is passing away.  During our brief sojourn as passengers on spaceship Earth, let us only concentrate on those things that truly matter for eternity. I leave you with these famous words of Jim Elliot "He is no fool to give what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." A Bird’s-eye view gives us the view of an entire location. And an Eternity’s-eye view changes our perspectives and keeps our priorities right. May God give us an Eternity’s-eye view!

Blessings

Daniel Solomon Raju

It is Well With My Soul

“Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, IT IS WELL.”  2 Kings 4:26 (KJV)

Horatio G. Spafford was a prominent American lawyer from Chicago in the mid 1800’s. He and his wife Anna were committed supporters and close friends of D.L. Moody, the famous preacher. In 1870, hardships attacked their life. The Spafford’s’ only son was killed by scarlet fever at the age of four. A year later, fire ravaged real estate holdings along the shores of Lake Michigan that Horatio had heavily invested in and every one of these holdings was destroyed by the Fire.

Needing a sabbatical from the stress that these disasters had taken on the family, Horatio decided to take his wife and four daughters on a holiday to England. It would be a combination of rest and helping DL Moody as he traveled around Britain on one of his great evangelistic campaigns. Horatio and Anna planned to join Moody in late 1873. And so, the Spaffords traveled to New York in November to catch the French steamer ‘Ville de Havre’ across the Atlantic. Just before they set sail, a last-minute business development caused Horatio to delay. Instead of letting this ruin the family holiday, Horatio persuaded his family to go as planned. He would follow later. Nine days later, Spafford received a telegram from his wife. It read: “Saved alone.”

On November 2nd 1873, the ‘Ville de Havre’ had collided with ‘The Loch earn’, an English vessel. It sank in only 12 minutes, claiming the lives of 226 people with Anna being only one of the 47 survivors by clinging to a piece of floating wreckage. Their four daughters--Maggie, Tanetta, Annie, and Bessie--were killed. When the survivors of the wreck had been rescued, Mrs. Spafford’s first reaction was one of complete despair. Then she heard a voice speak to her, “You were spared for a purpose.” And she immediately recalled the words of a friend, “It’s easy to be grateful and good when you have so much, but take care that you are not a fair-weather friend to God.”

Upon hearing the terrible news, Horatio Spafford boarded the next ship out of New York to join his bereaved wife. During his voyage, the captain of the ship had called him to the bridge. “A careful reckoning has been made”, he said, “and I believe we are now passing the place where the de Havre was wrecked. The water is three miles deep.” Horatio then returned to his cabin and penned the lyrics of his great hymn.

The words which Spafford wrote that day come from 2 Kings 4:26. They echo the response of the Shunammite woman to the sudden death of her only child. Though we are told “her soul is vexed within her“, she still maintains that “It is well.” And Spafford’s song reveals a man whose trust in the Lord is as unwavering as hers was.

None of us truly know how we would react or respond in such overwhelming circumstances. Spaffords knew God was not their source of trouble. They knew Jesus was their hope in trouble and received His grace to be able to respond so wonderously! In fact, the true biblical response to life's problems is to take full advantage of the grace of God and turn every setback into a springboard. We can also know that this same grace is available to us so that no matter what circumstances shadow our life, we may be able to say with Horatio Spafford…

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Blessings

Daniel Solomon Raju