OLD LADY, BEDRIDDEN
1 AUG 2017
It amazes me all the time, the way God works between people . His planning and calculation is mind blowing. It all started yesterday afternoon when my father planned a visit next day , to meet an old aunty who was a far off relative at an Old age home. Yesterday night , my wife ,Sobha happened to discuss about another disheartened person , who saw that everything was over for him at his old age and was awaiting his departure .No consolation or word could deter his resolute thinking . God gave us a word. When did Jesus say , “It is finished.” We all know that portion of the Bible. John 19 : 30 …So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. Jesus we know fulfilled all that was written about Him in the scripture , that’s when he said, “ It is finished.” But the question is ,When did Jesus say this… ? We know Jesus said that, just before his last breath and gave up His spirit. A thing to discern... Jesus did not say , it is finished , when his crucifixion process started . He saw that his death was nearing, but notice he didn’t say that ,it is finished at that time. Why was that ? There was lot of prophecies and word yet to be fulfilled starting from the announcement of his Crucifixion till his last breath. There were prophecies of the marks made on his body, about water flowing from his side, bones not broken, crucified between robbers, betrayed , suffering, pain , lot more … How would it come to pass, if Jesus would have said it is finished right at the starting ,from the announcement of his Crucifixion. We generally come to say and finalise that it is finished for us ,when we fail in all departments of our might, our strength , our wisdom & our wealth. This is when , we men say that , …it is finished. If we were in the place of Jesus , we would have announced that …it is finished , even before Judas approached to kiss. We are so ready & eager to announce it, soon as we see our own resources being redundant . Jesus wanted to accomplish the will of his Father by the fulfillment of the word each moment of his life . For us the will of God is no more applicable when our own might, wisdom & wealth fails.
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There was one more thing discussed about HOPE. The hope in the OT was like how the pslams writer in Ps 42 quoted “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.” Abraham as in Gen 15: 5 & Rom 4: 18 , In hope he believed against hope. In the OT it was a Hoping towards salvation ; whereas in the NT , it is that Hope Fulfilled . Rom 5 : 2 “through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.” Where are we now., Are we still in Hoping state or Hope fulfilled state ? We should be like ones with Hope fulfilled. Its very much needed that our attitude and thoughts should elucidate with a Hope fulfilled nature. Why is that , so essential ? It is because when we ourselves go through pain, Oldage or suffering , this Hope filled and embedded in our mind helps us to persevere ,so that we still radiate with God’s love to all others until our last breath. The verse continues Rom 5: 3 “ Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. “
There are lot of old people in our community we know , make these announcements , ready and eager to say , it is finished. This old lady whom we visited next day was lying in the bed as a dead person with a depressed face . Its not their fault , but they face rejection and separation , from all others. God has a word for everyone. Soon as I met her , the first thing she told me was a verse which I had told her 2 years back….Isa 65: 20b For the child shall die one hundred years old. I was really glad & surprised at her memory . She had to remind me that I had told her 2 years back. However, she continued to say very confidently and pursuantly that , “ but now .. …it is finished .” She made all sorts of claims and reasons to prove her point . I listened to her patiently . Strangely I was glad when she said that , because I knew what God wanted to speak to her , God wanted to show her grace through the word we received yesterday. I was awestruck by the fact that , how God planned through different people in reaching out to this Lady. The very thing she was trying to convince us now ,was that .. …it is finished . There is no more purpose & meaning . I said ,God has already told me what He intends to tell you. I asked her to calm down and listen to me very carefully . I started sharing the word as written above. I told her all about the verse John 19: 30 . Thank God ,she was absorbing each & every word said. Gradually ,she asked us to make her sit upright. She said, “ just show me your hand , I will get up , on my own.” My father showed his hand .We asked her, “Do you need any support to sit upright .“ She said , “No need, I know to support myself.” We noticed a certain kind of life and energy creeping into her. Praise God for His word. God had prepared us to give the word to this Lady . When God gives us a word ,its not just for us , but all others . His exection and timings amazes us.
Further , I asked her to read the continuing verses… John 19: 28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” 29 Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. Notice Jesus said , I thirst. Thirst is just another involuntary natural response when our body is dehydrated. Thirst is just another natural response of our body. This simple response , the scripture says had occurred to fulfill the scripture. Just a word , THIRST- fulfilled the scripture, thus fulfilling the will of the Father . From a human perspective , its just a natural response, we cannot comprehend it as doing the will of God. We think, preaching , sharing ,healing , helping , administering and all other activities are the only things listed in the will of God. We think that’s just the way to accomplish his word. But for God his outlook on His will is different from ours. In his mysterious wisdom, even these small actions matter to him. We cannot always perhaps understand currently ,the will of God in a small act like THIRST. When we feel our resources are finished , life’s purposes are over , yet God still works in our weakness to fulfill His word in our life, even through just small acts which we consider as insignificant . You may be bedridden, you may be rejected, you may be separated, you may be exhausted, but God is not done with you … He has predestined our weakness, our oldage. He is still working on you to accomplish His word till your last breath .
The depth of this word THIRST could be understood when we refer back to Ps 69 : 21 They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink. Further in Deu 29: 18 as well ,it is mentioned about this bitterness and sourness . When we read these two OT passages further down, it continues with curses and punishments. Ps 69 continues ….let their table become a snare…. And so on .The same in Deu 29, it continues with curses……But here John 19:28-30 . Jesus doesn’t continue with a curse, for the bitterness shown to him, instead he declares that He has become the curse , and hence there will be no more curses. All curses are done with , by his crucifixion. Gal 3: 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us . Instead He declared…done with all curses, …it is finished. Wow ..just a small word- Thirst , a supreme will of God being established. Imagine if Jesus said that ..it was finished , all before he breathed his last. How could he ever do the will of the Father. How could we be brought forth through the WORD ,if Jesus was rushing to say . ..it was finished. Similarly in our life ,we need to understand that the small things we do in our incapability, in our oldage , in our sickness , in our weakness is meaningful to God. It is not to be considered meaningless and purposeless. Like Jesus , we also have been brought forth by the Word. (James 1: 18).
You won’t believe the next question the Lady asked me. She said, she was explaining to someone else in her oldage home about the OT & the NT details .It was ideal . I could also share with her about the Hope in the OT and NT. She patiently heard and there was a glimmer of small glow,hope and meaning exuberating, emanating from her wrinkled face…There is nothing unwanted for God. You are a wanted person by God till your last breath.
Zech 4:10 hints - not to despise the day of small things. God bless…