The Journey 232: The Best Way To Fine Yourslef ....
Read: Acts 16:16-24
Last week the Willow Creek Association, a not profit Christian organization in the US organized the Global Leadership Summit at Chicago. A conference that is held so that it can transform Christian leaders around the world with a renewed sense of vision, development of skill and become a sense of inspiration for the local church. They call leaders from around the globe to address the leaders of the different church’s so that they become agents of transformation in the local church. One of the leaders that they had for this year was a dynamic lady from India. Her name is Pranitha Timothy and she is the Director of International Justice Mission based in Chennai, India. Pranitha and her team works for the deliverance of bonded laborers in India and in the past nine years she has rescued more that 4,000 bonded laborers. During the summit meeting last Friday, she recalled how God called her for a life where she had to risk her life for the freedom of others. She had gone through different crisis in her life. Being a daughter of a missionary parents she had lots of financial difficulty and she was sent to boarding school. She grew up with resentment not only about her status as a missionary child but also at her physical attributes since she felt she was not good looking. She was a rebel in college and was always at the wrong side of the law. All this led to a hatred towards Christian faith. Later as she was doing her masters degree she was diagnosed with brain tumor. She had to undergo surgery that left her with the loss of ability to speak, hear and swallow. But slowly she regained all these and with this healing, started a new life for her. God began transforming her life with a vision. to live for others. From then onwards Pranitha and her organization has been a hope to people who still live as slaves. I am proud that an Indian lady could like Pranitha could address the global leadership summit. It is in this context that we also need to address the issue in our Christian life whether our Christian life and living involves taking risk so that we bring the hope of freedom in others.
We are mediating on the theme “ Transformed Living” and the portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Acts 16: 16-24. This portion deals with the conversion and also deliverance of a slave girl by Paul and Silas.. The slave girl was a prized possession for her owner as she had a spirit in her due to which she could prophesy the future. This was exploited by her owners for financial benefits. As Paul and Silas were walking, the slave girl followed them and started exclaiming that both Paul and Silas were the servant of Most High. The girl who was possessed by the spirit was following Paul daily and shouting in the same manner and that is when Paul decided to heal her by driving the spirit out of her. This action of Paul enrages the slave owners as they realize that the girl is no longer bonded to them nor can they use her for their selfish and materialistic needs. This angers them and both Paul and Silas are dragged to the market place, flogged, stripped and thrown into the prison. Here is Paul and Silas consciously risking their life for the sake of the slave girl. In a world of today I feel we all live our Christian life where most of our concerns is very personal. All our issues in Christian life are addressed to cater to our own selfish needs. But here is Paul and Silas teaching us a valuable example that if we need to witness to the love of Christ, we may have to risk our live so that through our action, another person could experience freedom and hope through Jesus Christ. Let us decide to rise above our selfish and personal ambitions in Christian life, to a life lived for the sake of others. Leaders like Pranitha are model for us and let us ask God and submit to God so that He could use us also in the transformation of others by giving to them freedom and hope.
Rev. Dr. Joe Joseph Kuruvilla
Last week the Willow Creek Association, a not profit Christian organization in the US organized the Global Leadership Summit at Chicago. A conference that is held so that it can transform Christian leaders around the world with a renewed sense of vision, development of skill and become a sense of inspiration for the local church. They call leaders from around the globe to address the leaders of the different church’s so that they become agents of transformation in the local church. One of the leaders that they had for this year was a dynamic lady from India. Her name is Pranitha Timothy and she is the Director of International Justice Mission based in Chennai, India. Pranitha and her team works for the deliverance of bonded laborers in India and in the past nine years she has rescued more that 4,000 bonded laborers. During the summit meeting last Friday, she recalled how God called her for a life where she had to risk her life for the freedom of others. She had gone through different crisis in her life. Being a daughter of a missionary parents she had lots of financial difficulty and she was sent to boarding school. She grew up with resentment not only about her status as a missionary child but also at her physical attributes since she felt she was not good looking. She was a rebel in college and was always at the wrong side of the law. All this led to a hatred towards Christian faith. Later as she was doing her masters degree she was diagnosed with brain tumor. She had to undergo surgery that left her with the loss of ability to speak, hear and swallow. But slowly she regained all these and with this healing, started a new life for her. God began transforming her life with a vision. to live for others. From then onwards Pranitha and her organization has been a hope to people who still live as slaves. I am proud that an Indian lady could like Pranitha could address the global leadership summit. It is in this context that we also need to address the issue in our Christian life whether our Christian life and living involves taking risk so that we bring the hope of freedom in others.
We are mediating on the theme “ Transformed Living” and the portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Acts 16: 16-24. This portion deals with the conversion and also deliverance of a slave girl by Paul and Silas.. The slave girl was a prized possession for her owner as she had a spirit in her due to which she could prophesy the future. This was exploited by her owners for financial benefits. As Paul and Silas were walking, the slave girl followed them and started exclaiming that both Paul and Silas were the servant of Most High. The girl who was possessed by the spirit was following Paul daily and shouting in the same manner and that is when Paul decided to heal her by driving the spirit out of her. This action of Paul enrages the slave owners as they realize that the girl is no longer bonded to them nor can they use her for their selfish and materialistic needs. This angers them and both Paul and Silas are dragged to the market place, flogged, stripped and thrown into the prison. Here is Paul and Silas consciously risking their life for the sake of the slave girl. In a world of today I feel we all live our Christian life where most of our concerns is very personal. All our issues in Christian life are addressed to cater to our own selfish needs. But here is Paul and Silas teaching us a valuable example that if we need to witness to the love of Christ, we may have to risk our live so that through our action, another person could experience freedom and hope through Jesus Christ. Let us decide to rise above our selfish and personal ambitions in Christian life, to a life lived for the sake of others. Leaders like Pranitha are model for us and let us ask God and submit to God so that He could use us also in the transformation of others by giving to them freedom and hope.
Rev. Dr. Joe Joseph Kuruvilla