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by Rev. Fr. V.V. Paulose, Toronto, Canada
"We know that we are truly saved because we are practicing righteousness." (1 john 2:29, 3:10)
Do you need peace of mind?
The visible proof of being a Christian is having right behavior. Faith always
produces results. The spirit of God gives us a new mind, a new heart and a new
life. That should reflect in all walks of our life. The true follower of Christ
is the one who leads, not the one who preaches. To paraphrase liberally what
Paul said would be, "If I'm a Preacher and can speak with the tongues of men and
angels, but no life to witness, I'm nothing but crashing cymbals. And all my
talks would be useless noise."
No one can give what he or she doesn't have. Gandhiji once said, "If the
Christian would live their lives according to the teachings of Jesus Christ,
there would be no more Hindus left in India." How apt are the words of Gandhi!
Connect life with faith, and then everything will be in order. Love, peace and
joy will blossom in our lives. Let us start with a small step and one simple
life-changing act.
Sara and Mathew, both professionals and aged around 40 years, were regular
Church goers and actively participated in all the church activities. They never
thought about bringing any change to their character. They believed that church
attendance was more than enough for this life, and life after. They did not feel
guilty when they avoided payment of taxes from their business and highly paid
jobs. They found a number of loopholes to cheat the government and did it. One
day, they started to read and contemplate on the Bible. That changed their
perception towards their lifestyle. They understood that by being a Christian
and avoiding taxes was dichotomy and not a good act. Realizing their mistake,
they are now paying their taxes correctly and regularly for the past two years.
They say that they are now happy, prosperous, feel free and have peace of mind.
What else do they need?
Our life should be our message. Living a double standard life is very ugly and
horrible. That is a sign of sickness and one can never enjoy peace, love and joy
of life, now or later. So let us start today to be true to our faith and enjoy
the beauty of life.
Jesus, we are your witnesses on this earth. Let
us be genuine to our faith. Remove our ugly faces of unrighteousness. Bless us
to enjoy the joy, peace, love and salvation that you brought to us by our
faithfulness to your words. We ask this in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
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