A naturalist took eggs of a nightingale to a cold country, and hoped that when they hatched birds would regard that country as their home and remain there. But they came out, and, after summer, they flew away to their native home, and never came back. Similarly, though born in this world, we are not for this world. As soon as time comes for us to leave body, we shall move away into our eternal home.

From "The Real Pearl" by Sadhu Sundar Singh, CLS Madras 1966.

Who is really blind? If a blind man comes down street onus is on person who can see to draw aside so as to avoid collision, and if by chance they collide he should not mind but rather beg blind man's pardon and help him. If he should get annoyed that would only be proof that blind man is really not less but more clear-sighted than he is, because he is blind with regard to both sympathy and intelligence. So if anyone opposes and persecutes us because we follow truth, instead of taking it ill we must forgive, love and pray for him (Mat. 5:44, 45), and if he still does not repent and desist we are not losers, because we ought to do this for Truth, who gave us sight and is Himself is our reward.

From "The Real Pearl" by Sadhu Sundar Singh, CLS Madras 1966.

The Reality of Living Christ We see medicine for our eyes. It is in a bottle, but when it is in our eyes we cannot see it. The medicine cleans eyes and still eyes cannot see it. They feel presence of medicine. You say: "I have medicine in my eyes". So when Christ was in Palestine, in physical body, many people could see Him, but now when He is living in our hearts we cannot see Him. Like medicine. He is cleaning our spiritual eyes from all kinds of sins. We are being saved though we cannot see Him. We feel His presence. (I don't mean by "feeling" a kind of physical sensation, this "feeling" is not an emotion either.) By "feeling" I mean we realise reality of living Christ and shall be able to bear witness for Him and to say: "Now we are in Kingdom of God and Kingdom of God is within us".

From "Life in Abundance", CLS, 1986

Taste and see.... About four years ago I was talking to a very learned man. He said: "It is very useful to know all about Bible, and also to analyse every part of it". Then, as an illustration, he took a cup of milk: he was a chemist. "Now, is it not so much sugar, and so many other things in milk?" He made everything separate. I said: "It is very interesting, I cannot go against it, but I should say that your little child of three years of age is better than you. This child cannot analyse milk, but he drinks it and knows from experience that it is sweet, and in doing so, gets stronger every day. He does not know how many things it is made of, but he knows two important things: first, that milk is sweet; second, that by it he is getting stronger. You have analysed it, and in doing so have derived no benefit, and you have spoiled milk." There are many chemists who can analyse Word of God. They say: "This part belongs to Palestine, this to Greece." They can explain many things about it in different ways, but they never drink spiritual milk. They analyse Word of God but never drink it, they have not strength enough to overcome temptation; that is why there is great danger in criticism, and our Lord knew about these things when He took a little child and said: "Of such is Kingdom of Heaven". You must be like a child who takes and drinks.

From "Life in Abundance", CLS, 1986

Sandalwood and axe * The good and spiritual man will always endure suffering in world (2 Tim. 2:12), because people cannot understand him; and as their conscience and their feelings, by means of which they should find truth and value it, are desensitized and deadened through sin, whenever they come across a good man they discover that his nature and his ways are incompatible with theirs, and so are compelled to persecute him. But those whose spiritual sensitivity and conscience are alive and alert uphold rut, and are influenced by upright man's fragrant and winsome life. The life of a true Christian is like sandalwood - instead of harming in any way axe that cuts, it imparts its own fragrance to it.

The Rose and its thorns As long as we are in this world we have to undergo both joy and sorrow. The bee not only gathers honey; to serve a particular purpose it also carries a sting. It is not without reason that beautiful fragrant roses are accompanied by thorns; and Paul's 'thorn in flesh' too (2 Cor. 12:7- 10) contributed to fulfilment of a lofty objective. In same way it is absolutely necessary for us too to go through such experiences for fulfilment of a final and eternal purpose.

Worse than Ox Many live their lives like beasts of field. They have tongues, but no power of speech, and are dumb as animals, with no message for themselves or for others. Animals indeed have tongues, but have no ability to speak, because they have nothing to talk about beyond usual animal feelings, which they express by sounds and movements. Those without spiritual life are like animals; but in a sense they are worse, for ox knoweth its owner, and ass its master's crib: but man, who is crown of creation, does not know his Creator (Isaiah 1:3). His tongue is very swift to utter falsehood, but is slow to speak truth because he does not know Lord his God (Jer. 9:3).

Suffering and being revived As in world, night lasts in some places for only a few hours, and in other places for several months, so there are always seasons of joy and of sorrow to be found in our lives, and all of us must at last pass through 'valley of shadow of death'. Those who in their lives bear Cross may truly say 'We die but behold we live' (II Cor. 6:9), and as tree which in winter loses its leaves and seems to be dying, in spring is infused again with new life and once more shoots out its leaves, so Christians in time of persecution seem to be ready to die, but again and yet again do their lives revive. In spite of all their sufferings 'their lives are hid with Christ in God'. As Gulf Stream flowing up from warm waters of tropics saves coast of Europe from rigour of a bitter winter, so God's Spirit flowing through lives of true Christians keeps them always in glow of spiritual health and happiness.br> to read more great articles...www.god-life.com

We can either put up hedges which need maintenance and upkeep and are a delight to see when they are cared for or in our lives or we can put up fences which distance us from world and become a judgement on world. We all like friends we can relate to and be real with not holier-than-thou people who keep up a façade of holiness. Putting up fences make me less approachable and more unreachable. The Pharisees had many fences to "keep them from sin" and they were fenced in and bound to them and by them.

Pharisees had most law because they figured that if they did not keep law they would suffer consequences of disobeying God. For this reason they decided to make more laws to protect them from being tempted to break original law of God. If there were grey areas new laws were made to clarify old ones, it was never ending. These laws were to prevent them from coming anywhere close to temptation and gave them a sense of holiness not because they just kept law of God but also because they were trying to keep man-made laws that were thought up to keep them as far away from sin as possible!

So in their minds they were holy and blameless above and beyond law of God. In effect going beyond call of duty! This sounds good doesn’t it? Yet ultimately it turned to bite them in heel. No one can keep law of God and that is why we need divine redemption because nothing in us can save us. Humanism will never be salvation to us. The Pharisees started out wanting to please God and ended up displeasing Him because though they had made it harder for themselves to sin against law they had now nurtured pride for this achievement in their hearts!

Many of us today are just as Pharisaic and want to be noted as spiritual and above reproach, praying longer, studying more diligently, fasting more often and tithing greatest amounts. There is nothing wrong with any of these things but ultimately what other people see is either hedges or fences in our lives. Both need time invested in them and yet they can conjure up different responses from world. The differences between hedges and fences is in their motivation, idea of pleasing God can be executed in two very different ways depending on our focus, either ourselves (selfishness) or God (Godliness). One is holier than thou and judgemental, demanding that others follow to letter of law, and other is humble and upright but realistic and vulnerable and without care for reputation.

Which one am I building up in my life? Hedges or fences? I think that many times we call a fence a hedge. Time will tell what will survive and last into eternity as an offering dedicated to God and what will just be a work of dedication to self.

My prayer is that God would search my heart and allow me to see fences that need to be pulled down to make way for hedges.

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