GENTLENESS

GENTLENESS

In one of Aesop’s fables there’s a story about an argument between the wind and the sun as to which of them is stronger. To settle the argument they decide to test their respective strengths against a man who was wearing an overcoat. It was agreed that whichever of them compelled the man to take off his overcoat, that one was the stronger.

The wind began the test. It blew and blew, even to gale force, but the only reaction from the man was to wrap the coat tighter around him. The sun then took over. It didn’t actually do anything. It was shone in the sky and let the heat reach the man. Within minutes the man removed his coat.

v “Blessed are the meek for they shall possess the earth.” (Mt. 5:5)

v You can catch more flies with a spoonful of honey than with a hundred barrels of vinegar.

- St Francis de Sales

GOOD FRIENDS

GOOD FRIENDS

Dr Joseph Matarazzo was held of the Medical Psychology Department of the University of Oregon. He would of course have been in great demand as a psychotherapist, and would have contributed a great deal to the furtherance of such science.

On one occasion however, he is quoted as saying, “That more psychotherapy is accomplished between good friends over cups of coffee at ten o’clock in the morning than all day long in doctor’s offices.’ He goes on to stress the vital importance of a good talk with a real friend, and he says that this is who is most helpful when things go wrong.

v    My friend is someone who really knows me and still loves me.

v    A problem shared is a problem halved.

HOW REAL IS IT?

HOW REAL IS IT?

One time a group of people came to Abraham Lincoln to discuss something that had been causing some trouble. Their arguments were not based on facts but on suppositions. After listening for a while, Lincoln asked, “How many legs would a sheep have if you called its tail a leg? ‘Five’ was the reply. ‘No’ said Lincoln, ‘it wouldn’t; it would only have four. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it one.’

v    Many will call me ‘Lord’, says Jesus but they won’t enter the kingdom of heaven. (Mt. 7:21)

v    If I am a Christian, I don’t need to tell others – they will know it themselves.

My Message

MY MESSAGE

In Through Season of the Heart, John Powell writes, “There’s an old Christian tradition that God sends each person into this world with a special message to deliver a special song to sin for others, a special act of love to bestow”.

“No one else can speak my message, can sing my song or offer my act of love. This is my responsibility; this is entrusted to me”.

Ø     A bit frightening, isn’t it? Especially if I have to answer for how I carried out my mission.

Ø     I shall pass this way but once. Any good deed that I can do, any good word that I can say, let me do it now, let me say it now- for I shall never pass this was again.

Warts and All

WARTS AND ALL

This story is told about Oliver Cromwell. He was sitting for an artist, who was painting a full-length picture of him. When the painting was complete, Cromwell looked at it and saw that the painter had gone out of his way to make Cromwell more handsome than he actually was. For example, Cromwell had warts on his face, but the painter had opted to omit this.

Cromwell would not accept the finished product. He insisted that that the painter do one more portrait, only this time, he was ordered to paint Cromwell, “warts and all”.

ü     We don’t like the ‘warts and all’ part of who we are.

ü     We could easily prefer the painter who can make us look better than we really are.

WHEN JESUS ENTERS

WHEN JESUS ENTERS

A working man was strongly drawn toward a beautiful vase, he saw in a stall down in the town market. He bought the vase and brought it home. The vase was so beautiful that it made his front room look drab, dull, and indeed, plain ugly. So he got bright paints and transformed the whole room. He got colourful curtains to match the paint, a brightly patterned carpet and he even stripped down and varnished the furniture….  Because of the beauty of the vase, the whole room was totally transformed.

ü When Jesus enters my heart, the areas in need of attention become oh, so obvious.

ü Holiness consists in discovering that I’m a much bigger sinner than I ever thought I was! The closer I came to God, the more obvious the contrast. 

Shaped By Life

SHAPED BY LIFE

So big is a novel by Edna Ferber. In the story a young architect named Dick falls in love with a young artist named Dallas. Dallas admits that she lies Dirk, but she just does not love him enough to marry him. The problem she has with Dirk is that he has never had to struggle in his life that he has always got everything handed to him.

She goes on to say that struggle is very necessary for personal growth and wholeness. It gives a person a very special kind of lovable- ness, and it can even be detected in a person’s handshake.

ü        Any compassion I have is direct result of my own struggles and pains.

ü        Any worthwhile growth in my own life has taken place during times of struggle and conflict.

ü        To the fool it’s a problem, to the wise it’s an opportunity.