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Religion on the road to Damascus, Syria

Sunday, August 25, 2013

My boys love to yell across the house: "Mommy!" repeatedly until I finally give up and come to meet their needs. I have tried to remind them several times that if they want to talk to me, they should move their little feet in my direction instead of yelling the breath out of their lungs. But for laziness reasons they prefer the yelling method because it usually works!

There is something about maternal instinct that allows mothers to recognize the voice and even the cry of their offspring from far away. My heart is always touched when I hear a baby or a child cry, but something deeper goes on when I hear one of my kids cry. That cry pierces my heart, time stops, there is only one thing going on in the entire universe and my motherly heart would pay anything to have access to the cry off button. That cry is not just a sound, it is a person squeezing out their pain through their throats and flooding their eyes with sadness. I know their voice.

"And the sheep follow him, for they know his voice" John 10:4



Saul and Mary

He is on a mission on the road to Damascus, Syria,
She is on a mission hushing to the tomb early,
He sees death as the solution,
She sees death as the tragedy.

He moves forward with anger,
She wishes the past had lasted longer,
He is surrounded by human strength,
She is surrounded by angels,

He suddenly sees a bright light!
She has her vision blurred by tears.

"Saul, Saul", says the voice that scares him,
"Mary", calls the familiar tone,
"Who are you?", Saul asks.
"Rabboni!", Mary rejoices!

He had never heard that voice,
She loved that voice!
He believed in his zealous for God,
She believed in a person.

(poem based in John 20 and Acts 9)

Religion is not personal, Jesus Christ is. 

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me". John 10:27