It all began at a hairdresser’s salon.
My wife Theresa was reading a ladies’ magazine when she came
across a statement on the “Horoscopes” page. The writer said (somewhat enthusiastically) that life would begin afresh
from that month – “not a new chapter of a book, but a new book!” When Theresa later shared with me what she
had read, we thought it was an amazing thing to say. “Life afresh! You can re-live your life! You
can disregard all things past!” It’s a
whimsical thought – imagine – we can over-ride what has happened, re-wind time
and re-start the journey of life – as and when we like it! Is that how we should see our life on earth,
now that we trust God for His Presence, His Pardon and His Provision and His
Protection? We think not.
Ravi Zacharias, one of the more dynamic Christian thinkers
who have shaped and impacted our understanding on many issues, has penned his
thoughts in a book on how we should look at our lives. This book is surprisingly short and
light. It is not more than 200 pages,
excluding notes and an Appendix of 25 key questions and answers. Still his ruminations are insightful,
illuminating enough to help Theresa and I frame a Christian response.
As the backdrop of his thoughts, Ravi uses the weaving of a
spectacular and breath-taking sari that every bride in northern
India wants to
wear on her wedding day. In typical
Indian fashion, the weaving is a team effort of a father and his son. The father “sits on a raised platform with
huge spools of brilliantly colored threads within his reach.” The son sits on the floor. Following the father’s nods of his head and nimble movement with the
threads, the son moves the shuttle of the weaving loom from one side to the
other to set the thread onto the sari being weaved. The father weaves with a picture of the
pattern fixed in his mind. We would not
see it but as the spools of thread empty, a 6-yard long sari will appear in its
splendor. To a world that is
increasingly pessimistic of what life is offering and whether there is any
meaning and purpose in all that has happened, Ravi asks: “is it not possible
that the Grand Weaver has a design in mind for you, a design that will adorn
you as He uses your life to fashion you for His purpose, using all the threads
within His reach?”
What are these spools of threads?
Ravi has 8:
DNA, disappointments, calling, morality, spirituality, will, worship and
destiny. As usual,
Ravi
has great stories to tell as illustrations. Some of these stories are worth re-reading and reflecting. At other times, what he says alone makes us
pause and think back on what has happened in our lives.
For Theresa and I, 2 passages from God’s
Word and one great lesson ring in our hearts after reading this book.
We have a fresh understanding of Romans
8:28 “And we know that in ALL
things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called
according to His purpose.” We affirm the
beauty of God’s promise in Jeremiah 29:11-13: “For I know the plans I have for
you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give
you hope and a future. Then you will
call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me
with all your heart. I will be found by
you, declares the LORD.” As for the
lesson, we let
Ravi say it in his inimitable
way: “We know the design is beautiful. The promise is sure. The end
result is profound. The answers will all
be there. But the condition is clear: we
must search for God with all our hearts. And when you are about to walk into eternity, may you also be able to
say…”Amazing! It’s just amazing!”
Lies Young Women Believe
and the
truth that sets them free
by Nancy Leigh
DeMoss
& Dannah Gresh
PR BV4551.3 DEM
Reviewed
by: Dorcas Fong
The voices of this generation of young women have been aptly
captured and crystallized by the authors of this book through the tools of a
nationwide survey, in-depth discussion groups and an interactive blog.
This book is segmented into three parts - the first is about
the landscape of lies, which describes the deception that exists in everyday
life, its destructive power and the means to stand for Truth.
The second section on the actual lies that young women
believe is the most interesting to me, and it is subdivided into lies within different
areas of life. For instance, in the subsection “Lies about God”, the deception
of a ‘God is not enough’ thinking is unmasked. In “Lies about Guys”, the ‘I
need a boyfriend’ mentality is explored. In “Lies about Sin”, the ‘In certain
situations it’s OK to break the law or rules if I’m not hurting myself or
others’ attitude is checked.
Although the authors acknowledge that it is impossible to
cover each of these lies in depth in this book, one of the aims is to create
awareness of these deceptions. Finally, the third portion on overcoming lies to
true freedom comes into play.
I would recommend this book to any youth, youth leader or
concerned parent. It will serve as a good starting point for realizing/creating
awareness of the internal struggles that afflict this generation of girls. This
can then lead to an in depth exploration into the Word to counter particular
lies.
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