Digging deep for Eternity

Reference Passage:

Luke 6:49 (NKJV)

"He who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. 

And the ruin of that house was great." 

Read the whole parable here

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"I am the power that lifts the world's head proudly skywards, surpassing limits and expectations. I am Burj Khalifa." 

So runs a proclamation on the walls of the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, located in Dubai. Towering over Dubai's landscape at a height of 828m, built at a cost of USD 1.5 billion and shattering several world records in one go, we would be compelled to think likewise. However, the Burj's completion co-occured with the financial crisis, that took the wind out of the sails of Dubai's sky-high dreams. As lavishly ornate office and residence spaces remain unoccupied, I wonder which - an inward look or a skyward one -  would be more appropriate. My thoughts turn to the construction of an edifice that the Lord Christ envisioned in the parable of the two builders.

The wise man's wisdom may not have been obvious when he commenced his task. His engineering design focussed on reaching deep into the earth for a solid foundation. The cons of such an approach aren't too difficult to spot. If time is money, going deep would cost a fortune. This is why the pursuit of spirituality fails to appear in our time-tables. Why should one waste time reading God's Word, when the mall's winter sale ends tomorrow? Although preparing for the exams hardly bothered us when the schedule was announced, there's always the eleventh hour, even if this means missing Church meetings to study.

At times, our protagonist finds himself lonely because digging deep into matters of faith is now culturally unpopular. Others fail to understand why he's so hyped up about following an unseen Nobody, whose role seems to have been successfully substituted by the twenty first century technologist. His questions on life after death, are comically plastered on advertisements for life insurance – "What would they do if you died tonight?" All of this, still can't shake his core belief that God has much more to do with the foundations of the human civilisation, than any other manmade substitute.

Nature has its unique quality control mechanisms to test how well we build ourselves. The floods came crashing and screaming, its hands pushing the house with great strength. Those were dark days for the wise man, as pain and doubt attempted to crush his labour of faith in a moment. However, with every passing minute, the strength of his Rock foundation was shining ever brighter. Ultimately, the torrent gave up; in the dawn of peace, the house was still standing for the Rock of Ages had once again proved He was simply unbeatable.

Another man began his own construction project, although in different taste and spirit. Not that he didn't want to build, but he had a peculiar habit of hearing God's advise, yet doing nothing about it. In this context, most of us aren't very different in our approach to God's Word. It barely takes moments for the latest sermon to vanish from memory, more so because we feel there's no accountability involved – pastors dont conduct surprise tests anyway. The consequence is a shallow spiritual experience that appears like a better structure, at a lower price. Its a shame that we delude ourselves in the sunshine, that those days of darkness would never visit our soul, in spite of the certainity that our Teacher has pointed out.

The unforgiving floods came knocking one day, and the knees of the foolish man followed suit. His design was clearly unready for such difficulty levels. This house could not match the assault, and soon began to crumble under the crushing blows of the tempest. The hidden weaknesses of the structure gradually emerged. Worse still, the storm was taking away even the little that remained, and leaving behind a desolate ruin – completely exposed and vulnerable. The material loss was only a part of the toll; the ensuing shame and dishonour was a far greater casualty. Take an example - over and over again, Christian grandstanding on love has been rich in expression, while practical meaning in the fundamentals of human relationships go unheeded. The strain is already showing in our family lives and Church associations. Does it ever bother us that our sacrifices in the name of religion, might actually come to nothing if our 'house' fails to stand up to the tests of life?

Both builders had something in common – the desire to live progressively. Both of them had major losses at different stages in life, the distinctive difference being the nature of loss – one lost the temporary to gain the Eternal, while the other grabbed the temporary, and missed the Eternal. Furthermore, their fiery trials revealed vastly different results – the unapparent strength of the wise, and the hidden weakness of the foolish.

Each day, our faults prompt us to dig even deeper into the Rock for potency to conquer all. When the silence of loneliness bothers us in the depths, may the thoughts of the Cross soothe our soul – for there, lay the rejected Saviour who saved many, yet the One whom none would save. Indeed, He is the Rock of Ages, cleft to hide sinners from the violent storm of Divine judgement and the sure foundation of His Church, their eternal hope of glory in a world tottering on the brink of self-destruction.

The Treasury of Solomon : The Identity Crisis

Reference Passage:

Proverbs 16:32 (Amplified Bible)

He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.

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Our failure to voice a question, cannot always mean that the answer is insignificant. One such question is the mystery of our inner identity – Who am I? Our lifestyle and evaluations of one another as humans, remain hinged on matters of external appearance and occupation. The subtle advances of this doctrine, has even transformed the way we work and earn. Performance measurements in certain quarters of the corporate realm, now evidently abide by the 'what-looks-good-must-be-good' principle alone and thus was born the appraisal techniques that annually fill the stomach of the manager, and the eyes of the subordinate. This is because, one builds his reputation on the toil of the other, and makes it easily appear otherwise. Hence, we end up telling ourselves that there is little esteem anymore for character, and today, personal success takes priority over personal morality.  

'Be yourself' is a battle-cry for the youth, commonly heard when confronting rules that stand in our way. We're told that we need not conform to the ideas of the authority – be it parents at home or teachers in class or elders in society. Think of clothes, food or religious beliefs and you'll easily understand what I mean. Though a commendable idea, is preserving the self our true concern when we say it? A more realistic explanation is that we're merely eager to get rid of whatever we classify as inconvenient, in line with our limited experience and narrow-mindedness. However, some of these 'disposables', actually hold the key to the very self-improvement that we implicitly seek. Obviously we miss these because we fail to sense the gravity of the identity crisis.  

In King Solomon's day, capturing a city involved military action or political intrigue, or a combination of both. Strong-arm tactics such as plugging the fresh water supply, proved useful to break down stubborn resistance, at times. Once there, the conqueror would place the local population under an annual tribute if he desired. There were also other options such as carrying away the inhabitants as valuable manpower resource, or as labour force to construction projects elsewhere. For the man at the helm of the action, all of this was a matter of immense pride, wealth and fame.

Nevertheless, amidst the applause and showers of praise surrounding the conqueror, the wise king had a word of caution to leave with us. One's calibre is best judged by how well the greater challenge of comprehending and conquering the inner self is met. Cities might fall to the genius of human intellect, or the sheer determination of the will, but not so the self. The image that the world has of us, may be one of control and determination, assessed by the cities we have conquered, or the wealth we have amassed for ourselves. Yet, it is perfectly possible to make a mess of life if our very own Ministry of Internal Affairs is in mayhem.

Let's think along Solomon's line of thought. Anger is relevant to most of us as the perfect example for the weakness of self. It takes very little to blow our fuse, especially when we are in 'multi-tasking deadline-approaching' mode. However, the damage generated by those moments of rage, could lead to drastic consequences.

Once, an engineer got into an argument with a driver. The heat rose, until the matter boiled over as physical violence. Corporation rules forbid mortal combat between employees, and offenders are slapped with termination notices. When the matter reached the HR, an officer called the two for an internal investigation. After talking to the driver, he gave the engineer a chance to defend his case. As you might expect, the engineer maintained his right and demanded a judgement in his favour. In fact, many judges today would hastily rule in favour of the mighty. However the officer's subsequent questions thoroughly fixed the self-righteous engineer.

"As engineer with the company, how many people work under you?"

"Fifty."

"And under the driver?"

"None."

"Do you realise that the driver gets a salary about a fifth of yours?"

"Yes."

"In terms of self-respect, in terms of career prospects, in terms of pay, who suffers a greater loss?"

The engineer did not have to admit the obvious.

The identity crisis is not just about anger. Think of the opportunities we have wasted through laziness. Reflect on the relationships we have soured by our lack of commitment. Give a thought to the many blessings we have taken for granted, without any afterthought of gratitude. For instance, have we ever reckoned how much our parents have put into bringing us up? Consequentially, we won't value being exemplary guides to our kids either, which is why parents now think that remaining attached to each other, is not a necessity, in nurturing children. All this, is merely the tip of the iceberg when we consider the missing pieces of the identity puzzle.

Our inner organism has decayed to the state where we are no more able to recognize our Creator, even though we were created in His own image and likeness. He intricately expressed His greatness in the needlework of nature, yet we believed it's simply physics. He beckoned man to Himself, through the establishment of human relationships, yet we were convinced it's simply psychology. He punished our follies with timely rebukes, yet we thought it's simply history. Although we bask in the glory of our scientific progress and technological advancements, we still have no answer to the question He posed before centuries: "What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?" (Mathew 16:26) 

Ultimately, He stepped down and walked among us, laying aside His awesome glory for a while. He healed the sick and comforted the weary, but also made it clear that we urgently needed an inward look. In return, mankind gifted the Cross with a sarcastic wisecrack: "Why don't You save Yourself and prove Your identity?"  (Mathew 27:39-40)

Ironically, as we celebrate 'simply Easter' each year, we silently agree with His premise. We are the ones who urgently need saving, not Him. Its our identity that requires proving and pruning, not His.