Break not your head!

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"Whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls it will grind him to powder" (Mt 21:44)

The stone obviously refers to Jesus. He is the "stumbling stone" and the "rock of offense" (Rom 9:33; Isa 8:14a). Here's a lesson of immense practical value: Never work against God!

The Lord brought down Paul the religious zealot from his arrogance and pride, and blinded him to teach him the painful truth: "It is hard for you to kick against thorns" (Acts 9:5). Eventhough Paul had studied under Professor Gamaliel, he had not understood this truth properly. For Gamaliel the guiding principle in ambiguous situations was, "If this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you will not be able to stop it. You may even find yourselves fighting against God" (Acts 5:34,38,39).

God has raised so many ministries these days at the finishing stage of world evangelisation. Some are independent ministries and some institutional. In our fallen nature, each of us thinks that his ministry is better than all the rest! If we do not correct this thinking, we would go about finding fault with everyone. The "speck" in other ministries will look to us bigger than the "girder" in our own! I had the same spirit in the early years of my ministry. When the Cross of Christ worked deeply in me, I began to change. I started appreciating the good in others. I resisted the impulsive behaviour to jump to quick conclusions. I became aware of the weaknesses in my own ministry and started weeping in secret.

I concluded, "There is no perfect minister or ministry in Christendom. All have pluses and minuses, strengths and weaknesses. We must build others and not break them. If I claim to be an apple of God's eye, the preacher with whom I disagree also is an apple of God's eye— His other eye! I must not work against God—even unawares. God is a Rock. I must not dash against it and break my head; nor should I be crushed by it!"

Headstrong pride, feet slippery envy,
Unjust hatred, unholy anger;
No, no such sinful trait
Can love ever contemplate;
Brotherly love is divine seed—
So let's love in word and deed!
                     (From Apostle Paul's Epistles)

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