God and Family: a Relationship

God makes Eve grow from Adam's rib, Byzantine gold ground mosaics, Cathedral of Santa Maria Nuova, Monreale Cathedral, Monreale, Province of Palermo, Sicily, Italy.

God and Family: a Relationship.

A classic verse in the Psalms which describes God's blessing on families is from Psalm 128:3, "Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table". This is a Pilgrims Psalm; a Bible Commentary says that it's a piligrimage of heart rather than of the feet.

A family would be like a father, a mother and children, which came down from our first ancestors Adam and Eve, who were made out of the hands of our Creator. Let's see some of the creation mythologies around us.

According to the Mixtec Indians of Oaxaca, Mexico, illustrate how their gods created the world. According to their cosmology, the first humans were the Primordial Twins. One Deer, with magic incense copal and ground tobacco, created the Mother and the Father of the Gods. Mother and Father then made four men and an entire constellation of spirits for crops, fire, smoke, forests, and other aspects of nature and the world.

The Chinese mythology, a giant called Pangu used his own body to create the world. Before creation, Pangu was like an egg yolk inside an egg. After eighteen thousand years, the world began to open. The light air called "Yangqi" flew up and became sky, and the heavy and wet air called "Yinqi" sank down and became earth. When Pangu breathed, his breath became wind. When he cried, his tears became oceans and rivers. After many years, Pangu died, and his head, body, and limbs turned into five famous mountains in China. Pangu created the world, but left imperfections. Because the sky was tilted at the northwest corner, the sun, moon, and other celestial bodies were not in harmonious order. The earth was lopsided because Pangu did not fill the southeast corner, causing the oceans, lakes, and rivers to pour in one direction. Nüwo, the Goddess of Creation, fixed these mistakes and then used mud to make men and women.

The Symposium by Plato (428–347 B.C.), depicts a first human as described by the playwright Aristophanes in the text: "The primeval man was round, his back and sides forming a circle; and he had four hands and four feet, one head with two faces. . . . He could walk upright as men now do." After these humans rebelled against the gods, as Zeus punished them by slicing them in two. Ever since, according to Aristophanes, humans have been driven by love into trying to reunite with their missing half to make a perfect whole.

In Egyptian creation mythology, the self created god Atum, after self impregnating himself brought out Shu and Tefnut, when they were lost in the dark waters of Nun, after finding them with the help of his eye, out of his joyful tears, sprang out men and women.

In Norse mythology the genderless giant Ymir and a Audhumla a hornless cow came out when Niflheim (ice/waters) and Muspell (fire) met. When this cow licked people from blocks of ice, the first day hair, second day his head and on the third day the shape of the whole man was revealed, whose name is Buri. Buri took wife from giants and had a son Bor, who again married another giant Bestla and had children  Odin, Vili and Ve. These three killed Ymir the giant. Out of the giants flesh made soil, his bones into mountains, his teeth into sand, the stars is the upper part of the skull, and the water was already present there. Because it's a flat earth, as to keep the waters at bay, made walls out of Ymir's eyelashes. This place is called Midgard. Midgard was empty. At the edge of the sea/waters Odin, Vili and Ve found two logs. One log was of Ash wood and the other was Elm wood. Odin breathed life into them. Vili gave them will, intelligence and made them to move. Ve carved the logs and gave them male and female genitals. The man was named Ask and the woman Embla.

Can you spot the difference, they all are believed to be true by their adherents. In creation of man and woman, some were finished by later gods, some were done in parts, some were already there, some were made out of secretions and some made out of scrap. How a god can have a loving relationship with those who are not part of his emotions or in a Biblical view who have not shared his attributes? How can the created beings find love for each other if they are not connected with one universal thing? How can they trust their Creator, if they are not one with Him?

Genesis 2:7 reads, "And the Lord formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul". To this man God brought every living creature, but still God did not find a suitable 'help' for him (v19, 20). So God made Eve out of the rib and flesh of Adam (v22), and a new relationship was born, "bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man" (v23). Now Adam has a suitable help. 'Help', in hebrew is ēzer, which has ʿAyin ע‎ Zayin ז Rēsh ר‎ as alphabets. Each and every hebrew alphabet has a specific meaning to it. To understand the word 'help', I choose to go with the original form of hebrew, which includes a Pictographic form, a Mnemonic meaning, a Syllabic meaning and a Phonetic sound. Of these I use Mnemonic meaning. Every Pictographic alphabet has a Mnemonic meaning, which has the extended meanings related to the picture (Pictographic alphabet). 

ʿAyin ע‎ 𓁹 (Ghan) = watch, pay attention, heed - as keeping a close eye on something; occupation - one paying attention to the task.

My comments : The suitable 'help' as in Ge.2:20, is a powerful caretaker of the family and keeps a strong watch over the affairs of the family.

Zayin ז 𓏭 (Zan) = tool, harvest; food - from the cutting of the crops with the tools; for storing the harvested food.

My comments : Understanding 'help' from this is, a useful tool/weapon which would work in storing of the food for the family.

Rēsh ר‎ 𓁶 (Res) = head - as top of the body; chief - the head of the tribe; rule - the role of chief; who can reason.

My comments : Through this we can understand 'help' as, one who can take up the responsibility, who can think and reason.

From the above analysis, we can understand that a wife is equal to the husband. She is no property to be owned, no inferior being and no subordinate. We can understand that a "suitable help" of Adam, his wife Eve is an equal partner who can take care of the family, who can provide, who can take up responsibility. What more can a man ask God more than this? God has great thoughts for us, He knows our needs and He knows how to meet them and He knows how to fulfill them. What more can a husband expect more than this from his wife, who is a bone of his bones, and flesh of his flesh.

The best example I can say is from the Book of Esther. King Ahasuerus (heb, Xerxes) made Esther his Queen who replaced Vashti (Es.2:17). And Haman the Amalekite(?) was been promoted in rank and gave him a higher position than all other officials (Es.3:1). His position is supposed to be a Vizer or a Prime minister to the King. He is responsible to the King, and not a subordinate to the Queen. The Queen has her place beside the King, but the Vizer can't sit beside the King. The Vizer can make a proposal to the King, for his authorization, but not to the Queen (Es.3:9,10). But a Queen doesn't have the power to over-rule the decision taken by the King, but definitely has the power to redraw a new draft or an ammendment to the order given by the King (8:1,7,8). That's the place of a suitable wife, who can refine the decisions that are going to be taken. A wife is not above or a subordinate to a husband, but an equal partner, who is an ēzer.

Till now we saw how God has a relationship with His creation. Now let's see how He intervenes in their lifestyle to be a blessing. To not to be distracted from His blessings, He gave us some commandments to be followed. These are (Exodus 20:1-17, Dt 5:6-21), the Ten Commandments, of which 4th, 7th and 10th are for a better family relationship. And I want to concentrate on the 4th commandment, "Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee", (Ex 20:12). Showing obedience to one thing results in receiving something more. The words "Honor" and "giveth" or in a different word "receive" are our focal points.

In different purposes of God's intervention in our lives, one of which He desperately wants is a relationship with us and to bless us though undeserving, out of His abundance. To bless us He demands us our faithfulness, "Honor", is one of them. Honor, in hebrew is "kābēd", which means to weigh heavily, to be heavy... It actually means a responsibility to be done. For example, if an ox has a heavy yoke on it's back, it knows that it's master has a task for it to do. In the same way, we too should feel like God through His commandment has His heavy hand laid on our shoulder expecting something from us. He is expecting Honor for Himself and for our parents as well, which in return we are honoured with the blessing. Whatever the situation might be around you, when you honor God you're blessed.

Let's see some unusual blessings of Israel. When I say Israel; from blessing within the family, some readers might think that I'm going out of context, but as parents are the head of the family, so do Israel is a family and God is the head of that family.

1. In Isaiah 26:15, "Thou hast increased the nation, O Lord, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth".

On reading Isaiah 26:7-15, though the Israelites has turned against their evil, and started honouring God, they are blessed by undeserving kindness of God. God is honoured by blessing them, this is how God can be trusted.

2. Psalm 22:23,24 "Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard".

For glorifying or honouring God, has made God to listen to our petitions, He will not hate the helpless and He will not turn away when we reach Him.

3. Jeremiah 30:18,19, "Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwelling places; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof. And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small". 

Here we can see the Lord's hand at work. On honouring the Lord, the Lord will honor you back. 

From the above three readings, we saw how honouring God will work for our best. In the same sense, when you honor your parents, they will bless you because you've honoured them. Though you may not done your best in your life tasks, they are trying to fulfill your needs, they will not hate you when you are troubled, they will not turn their face away when you reach them, with their help you can have joyful songs, you're boundaries are enlarged, your failures will be met with possessions (the Parable of the Prodigal Son, Luke 15:11–32), your lives will be rebuilt, you will be blessed in such a way that you will be honoured before all. More so, they are happy to go into debts to bless you, this is what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us. He paid the price of our debts and gave us a new beginning. This is how honor works. Lord blesses us in such a way, that as in "like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither.." (Psalm 1:3), and we are so blessed so blessed with abundance that our hands cannot fit to hold those blessings as like Peter, John and James were surprised by the catch though they tried all night (Luke 5:5-10). What they did was honoured the words of Jesus and rowed back into the sea again. 

In this troubled world, "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1Peter 5:8), to devour the families and your minds. This is the need of the hour to retrospect ourselves. Before closing I would like to direct you to some needful things for a happy family relationship. "Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble", "..and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought", "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace" (1Peter 3:8, 1Coronthians 1:10, Ephesians 4:3). This is the secret of a happy and a successful family relationship.

To conclud, heading of Psalm 128 reads, "a song of ascents", "maàlāh", mean in hebrew to ascent, used as a step or stair towards Jerusalem/God. Let's always remember the above read three Scriptures and start our watchful journey step by step ascending the stairs of the throne of God to reach Him by honouring Him and showing our complete obedience towards his commandments. Amen.

A Strong Mind

A Strong Mind.

Be strong (heb: chazaq) in mind and depend upon God, while making decisions in times of trouble.

2Chronicles 16:9 reads, "For the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth to show himself strong for those who are wholeheartedly devoted to him."

King Asa of Judah depended upon God in when he was facing a massive army from Ethiopia (Cush). Asa depended upon God and defeated the enemy and was victorious. But at an other instance when King Baasha of Israel was invading Judah, this troubling time, Asa instead of looking towards God, Asa sought help from King Benhadad of Syria. Prophets like Azariah and Hanani encouraged Asa to depend upon God in a troubled times. Asa sometimes listened and was rewarded within his walls with peace and rest, and when stopped worshipping the Lord he faced trouble. Though he defeated a massive army once, he sought help from an idlatrous king Benhadad, named after the the son of god of storms and thunder. 

Asa meant healer, rather than being a healer for his people and his land depending upon the Lord, he looked towards idlatrous king rather than making the Lord supreme over him. Sometime we too look unto the idlatrous rulers for our benefit rather than depending upon the Lord for help. Being a small army, Asa defeated a massive army, though we in this world are a small faithful people of the Lord, we too can defeat this massive hostile vigilantes. The only thing we require is the help of the Living Lord and an untroubled heart of strong faith in a gruesome world. 

C.S.Lewis in his 1948 essay, “On Living in an Atomic Age,” his words follow, seemingly applicable today as they were 70-plus years ago.

How are we to live in an atomic age?

I am tempted to reply: “Why, as you would have lived in the sixteenth century when the plague visited London almost every year, or as you would have lived in a Viking age when raiders from Scandinavia might land and cut your throat any night; or indeed, as you are already living in an age of cancer, an age of syphilis, an age of paralysis, an age of air raids, an age of railway accidents, an age of motor accidents.

If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs.

They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds."

Let's not be troubled in this world as like ill knowledge people, but be strong in mind and decisions to face a troublesome world. Let's be aware that the Lord is searching for his faithful.

Philosophy and Holy Bible: Cultivation of Healthy Humanity.

Philosophy and Holy Bible:

I was going through a book edited by Rebecca Samuel and Joel Carpenter, "Christianity in India: Conversion, Community Development, and Religious Freedom". While reading I came across a quote by a famous American philosopher Martha Nussbaum. The reading goes on like this...

"Three capacities essential for the cultivation of 'healthy humanity' in today's world.

First is an ability to critically examine oneself and one's traditions.

The second is the capacity to transcend narrow group loyalties and to extend to strangers the moral concern we typically reserve for friends and kin.

Finally, we need to develop a 'narrative imagination' that makes parabolic, plot-line connections out of sequences of human actions and their consequences".*

To my curiosity, I found that all the three essential requirements what the philosopher was demanding for a "healthy humanity" were fulfilled in the life and works of Jesus Christ.

Firstly, Jesus certainly did question the tradition which outdo and eclipse humanity on many occasions, for example, humanity over Sabbath rest, in Matthew 12:9-14, and in other occasion, questioning the credibility of a holy life who came to stone the woman caught in adultery, in John 8:3-9. Clearly, Jesus is pointing the jewish law to retrospect and introspect before passing a judgement. The lucid expression of Jesus words are a critical examination of His own traditions.

Secondly, Jesus healing people around and explaining about the Kingdom of God before the crowds, goes on to say as in Matthew 12:46-50, verse 50 reads, "For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (NIV). He doesn't want to limit His salvific redemption to His disciples, near and dear only, but to extend it to the whole world, verse 28 of Matthew 20: 26-28 reads, "the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (NIV). Clearly Jesus' words and works transcended narrow group loyalties here.

And finally, the plot-line, the disobedience of Adam and Eve and the consequence of their sin to eternal death was challenged by the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary. Apostle Paul summarises this sequence in his letter to Romans 5:15, 16 "But the two are not the same, because God's free gift is not like Adam's sin. It is true that many people died because of the sin of that one man. But God's grace is much greater, and so is his free gift to so many people through the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ. And there is a difference between God's gift and the sin of one man" (GNB). Paul continues in his letter, 1Corinthians 15:45, "it is written, the first man, Adam, became a living soul (an individual); the last Adam (Christ) became a Life-giving Spirit [restoring the dead to life]" (Amplified Ver). Here too, not in the narrative imagination sense of the action and consequence, but in a historical approach the salvific work of Jesus Christ in the sequence of the sin in action and the consequence is the "victory over sin". The aim and target are successful, the trajectory is perfect and on spot.

Therefore, the teachings, His life and the works of Jesus Christ in the Holy Bible are a complete guidance, for the brotherhood, peace, love and fraternity of a "healthy humanity" of the whole world.

*Martha Nussbaum, Cultivating Humanity: A Classical Defence of Reform in Liberal Education (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997), 9-11. See also Inga Clendinnen, True Stories (Sydney: ABC Books, 1999), 6.

God's Providence: In Times of Epidemic.

How did early Indian Christian converts react to their existing conditions (as in similar conditions like our days) -

"...the existing Christian communities are seen to be prosperous beyond the average; ..they are known also to be remarkably immune from disease: if attacked by epidemics, large numbers of them recover. The ultimate cause of this latter remarkable fact is, of course, God's grace; but the immediate cause is that men who have awakened to hope no longer submit to avoid calamity, they take the missionary's medicine, and, better still, they make a fight for their lives".*

This is the great promise we have from the Lord Himself, "And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, .." (Exodus 12:13).

"The Lamb slaughtered" (Jesus)(v7), "His death" (on the Cross)(v9), "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:4,5)

We have hope, because His blood is our sign, and we have hope to endure to live, and surely we will win over this pandemic. The Lord our Savior never changes (Hebrews 13:8), and we can surely trust and believe on.

*H.B.Hyde, South Indian Missions - The Present Opportunity, 1908.

The Church - it's Philanthropy

63. DISCUSSION WITH C.F. ANDREWS

[On or after November 9, 1936]

GANDHIJI: Their (Christian missionaries) behaviour has been as bad as that of the rest who are in the field to add to their numbers. What pains one is their frantic attempt to exploit the weakness of Harijans. If they said, ‘Hinduism is a diabolical religion and you come to us,’ I should understand. But they dangle earthly paradises in front of them and make promises to them which they can never keep. When in Bangalore a deputation of Indian Christians came to me with a number of resolutions which they thought would please me, I said to them: ‘This is no matter for bargain. You must say definitely that this is a matter to be settled by the Hindus themselves. Where is the sense of talking of a sudden awakening of spiritual hunger among the untouchables and then trying to exploit a particular situation? The poor Harijans have no mind, no intelligence, no sense of difference between God and no-God. It is absurd for a single individual to talk of taking all the Harijans with himself. Are they all bricks that they could be moved from one structure to another? If Christian Missions here want to play the game, and for that matter Mussalmans and others, they should have no such idea as that of adding to their ranks whilst a great reform in Hinduism is going on’.*

Reform! Why do you need a reform when you are so true towards the untouchables?

The mission of the Church is not just to evangelize and nurture, but to be a part of social cause too.

One missionary remarked, "It ought to be frankly recognized that it may be towards the Motherhood of the Church rather than towards the Fatherhood of the Savior from sin that the faces of the pariahs and aboriginal races of India are being slowly turned. They may be seeking baptism, for the most part not from a desire to have their lives and consciences cleansed from sin and to enter the eternal life of God, but because the Church presents itself to them as a refuge from operession, and as a power that fosters hope and makes for betterment."*

The Holy Bible reads,

35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,

36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?

38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?

39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?"

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."

(Matthew 25:35-40, NIV).

*Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume 70, page 58.

*H.B.Hyde, South India Missions - The present opportunity, The east and the west, VI (January 1908), 78.

The Crucified Cross - our only memorial.

The Crucified Cross - our only memorial.

The "U Go offensive, or Operation C", the Japanese offensive launched in March 1944 against forces of the British Empire in the northeast Indian regions of Manipur and the Naga Hills, through the two towns of Imphal and Kohima, one of the last major Japanese offensives during the Second World War. The Japanese and their allies were first held and then pushed back.

The war memorial in Kohima, capital of Nagaland, reads:

"When you go home, tell them of us and say, For your tomorrow, we gave our today."

Ephesians 1:4, Paul writes that God “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world.” Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.." God knows about each one of us even before he laid the foundations of the universe. He knows each one of us, because He created us in His own image. Genesis 1:27 reads, "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them;" What does God expects from us? Leviticus 11:44 says, "For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner.." God wants us to be holy; to holiness, Apostle Peter adds something more 1Peter 1:14, "Obedience", the scripture reads, "As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy"" (1Peter 1:14-16). Rather than showing obedience, what did our ancestor "the first man Adam" (1Corinthians 15:45) did? He disobeyed God's commandment, God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”(Genesis 3:3). Both Adam and Eve disobeyed God and sinned against God. The consequence of sin is death. Romans 6:23 reads, "For the wages of sin is death"; "Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey - whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?" Paul questions in Romans 6:16. And Paul reminds us of a remedy for this eternal death, the remedy or the gift is Jesus Christ, "..but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). God shows His love for us in such a way that "..while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd; ..I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep.. I must bring them also. .. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life - only to take it up again" (John 10:14-17). The Annunciation, Birth, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ has a purpose and He is here to fulfill it. Jesus says, "..just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45). Writing to Timothy, Paul writes, "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all,.." (1Timothy 2:5,6). As prophesied by prophet Isaiah, [“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors" (Isaiah 53:4-12)], Jesus was crucified for our sins, "He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right (righteousness)" (1Peter 2:24). He died for our iniquities, and as Jesus himself predicts his resurrection, "they will condemn him to death ..and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!" (Matthew 20:18,19). As said He was risen on the third day. As the purpose is been served, so now it is for us to confess our sins, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1John 1:9).

To conclude, if we can remember history and make a memorial for those brave soldiers who fought a brave fight in World War2, how much more are we owed to pay back for Him who had died instead of us. The punishment that we had to face, He took upon Him (Isaiah 53:5). Let us remember our Lord's Great Commission for us "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always,..." (Matthew 28 19,20). The Crucified Cross is our only great memorial.

So, let's take a decision, "When I am out of home, I will tell them of Jesus and say, For your tomorrow, Jesus gave His life."

Source about Kohima memorial is taken from Wikipedia.

Contrast between "the first man Adam" and "the last Adam" - A thought.

Contrast between "the first man Adam" and "the last Adam" - A thought.

About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" (which means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?").

Matthew 27:46 (NIV).

And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" (which means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?").

Mark 15:34 (NIV).

We all know that this is the fourth saying of our Lord Jesus Christ from the Cross. The enunciation of this clearly expresses the pain, agony and the weight of the sin that was upon Him. This made Jesus felt like, He was been left all alone in the world of "evildoers" (Mark 13:27) "darkness" (Matthew 8:12) all around Him, "weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Mark 13:28). He cannot resist this because, there is no sin in Him (John 8:46, "Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?")

But in contrast, our ancestor "first man Adam" (1Corinthians 15:45) at garden of Eden, when he had eaten the forbidden fruit shared by his wife Eve (Genesis 3), they entered into a new world of sin, fear, nakedness, hate, lies, etc. which is nothing but death. They realized that they are experiencing anew and not the past.

I believe, if Adam at that moment, when he experienced something anew, he should have cried out to the Lord, as Jesus cried out to His Father, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani". I am sure that the cry for desperate help from Adam would have brought in a new solution for the remedy of sin. But this didn't happen, he hid and was afraid of God. So "the last Adam" (1Corinthians 15:45) had to challenge the death by overcoming it. "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1Corinthians 15:55-57).