Gaining ControlSample

WHEN THE MERCURY RISES

I had settled into a vacant seat in the bus, grateful for the rest after a long walk from my home to the bus stop. My mind was busy planning many things to be done during the course of the day. Suddenly, I felt a bony elbow dig into my ribs. Startled, I turned to see a little old Badaga woman offering me a piece of banana which she had tweaked off with her fingers.

The Badagas are an indigenous people of the Nilgiris known for their agricultural background, their harmonious community living, and their warm hospitality, and here I was, getting a dose of it. Without saying a word, and with vigorous jerks of her head, she signaled to me to take the piece, which I reluctantly did. I didn’t fancy eating banana in the bus and getting my fingers sticky with it.

When she found that I still had it in my hand, she slanted her head and kept jerking it, encouraging me to eat it. With no way of escape, I finally popped it into my mouth to please her and she turned away satisfied. Sweet, but annoying! The incident was over in a few moments and the hospitable old lady went to sleep after that, but it set my thoughts snowballing.

When I contemplated Jesus’ tolerance level, I was not only amazed; I was also humbled and ashamed of myself. His level of tolerance was phenomenal. Just consider this: You have sat down to dinner with your family and friends and the delicious aromas of mixed cuisines are tickling your taste buds.

Just as you are about to sink your teeth into that succulent roast, you feel something wet and highly perfumed trickling from the top of your head, down your neck, and into your tunic. A woman has opened an expensive bottle of perfume and without so much as a “May I, please?” has poured it all over you. What would be your reaction? I’ll leave that to your imagination and honest self-examination.

What we are concerned with here is our Master’s handling of the situation. While all the others around Him were murmuring and scolding the woman, Jesus calmly accepted her offering of love and adoration and rewarded her by saying that her symbolic gesture would find a place forever in His Word.