| Creative corner |
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BE CREATIVE ... DARE TO IMAGINE ! If you feel that you have something positive to add to our site, be it prose - poetry - or a wise thought, you can email it to
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where it may be adjudged suitable for inclusion ... don't hesitate.
DO NOT JUDGE PEOPLE !
We spend an enormous amount of energy making up our minds about people. Not a day goes by without somebody doing or saying something that evokes in us the need to form an opinion about them. We hear a lot, see a lot, and know a lot. The idea that we have to sort it all out in our minds and make judgements about it is an idea we were born with. The anchient fathers said that judging others is a heavy burden, whereas being judged by them is a light one. Once we can let go of our need to judge others, we experience an incredible freedom. We are free tgo receive mercy, for Jesus said, 'Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy ...' (Matthew 5:7).
Most of us aren't aware of how deeply roote our prejudices are. We've convinced ourselves that we relate easilty to people who are different from us in colour, religion, sexual orientation, or lifestyle. But the truth is, our spontaneous thoughts, our uncensored words, our knee-jerk reactions, reveal that our prejudices c olour everything. Strangers (people different from us) stir up fear, suspicion, and hostility.
They make us lose our sense of security by just being 'other. What's the answer? Only when we understand God's unconditional love for us, and begin to see those 'other' people as equally loved by Him, can we remove the barriers and begin to build bridges; bridge over which we can walk to share God's love, and enjoy His family. -- WORD FOR TODAY --
A THOUGHT FOR LENT; Read Psalm 31: 5 -6. 14.15 - 16. Save me in your love, O Lord ! REFLECTION; The mother of James and John asks Jesus to have special places for them in His Kingdom. But Jesus lets them know that his kingship is reached through a journey of sufferings. Jesus asks John and James, not their mother, if they are ready to go through sufferings. Even though they say "Yes" to Jesus, He does not promise those reserved places. In the kingdom of God, the ranking is not on personal preferences, but on how God looks at the person. Place of honour and position is not important in the eyes of God, it is his gift. No one has a claim to the gift. It is given out of love and not because one desires it. Then there is the issue of jealousy among his disciples. Jealousy and anger are brothers. Am I aware of these human tendencies in me ? PRAYER; Lord Jesus, call me into Your sheepfold and take care of me. Keep me safe amid the troubles of life and secure from the evil one. Amen.
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