see Paris first

Suppose that what you fear
could be trapped
and held in Paris.
Then you would have
the courage to go
everywhere in the world.
All the directions of the compass
open to you,
except the degrees east or west
of true north
that lead to Paris.
Still, you wouldn’t dare
put your toes smack dab on the city limit line.
You’re not really willing to stand on a mountainside
miles away,
and watch the Paris lights
come up at night.
Just to be on the safe side,
you decide to stay completely out of France.
But then danger
seems too close
even to those boundaries,
and you feel the timid part of you
covering the whole globe again.
You need the kind of friend
who learns your secret and says,
“See Paris first.”

Fearing Paris
Marchsa Truman Cooper

Trust

Read this in a book recently..

 “..this cautionary fable about a great saint surrounded by his devotees. For hours a day, the saint & his followers would mediate on God. But the only problem was this annoying cat who would bother everyone during meditation. So the saint, tied the cat to a pole for a few hours daily, only during meditation, so as to not disturb anyone. This became a habit, but as years passed, the habit hardened into religious ritual. Nobody could meditate unless the cat was tied. Then one day the cat died. The followers were panic-stricken – how could they meditate now?”

The fable, whether true or false, does brings some sort of sense.

In our walk with God, have we..because over time & habit, became religious. That when change comes, we fail to recognize it..or worse, rebuke it.
Have we become what some might say..the blind leading the blind?
Have we become so comfortable, we stopped thinking for ourselves?
Have we crossed over the fine line of relationship vs religion, without even realizing it?
Have we then, because of religion..become quick to judge & criticize, instead of showing love & understanding first?

So many people wished to be understood. But yet we need to understand 1st, before being understood.
Something which I’ve learnt recently.

There’ve been debates over the years on grace, mercy, law, etc.
When did something that seem so simple become so complicated?

Things that happened in the recent months, made me realized how important it is to stay true & close to the word of God.
In Him, I can & will trust.

Yet, trust is the essence of any relationship.
It is true when John C. Maxwell said…trust everyone, until they give you a reason not to.