Samuel Godfrey George

How do we worship God?

2018-08-26T19:13:00.000+05:30

Many people go to church to worship God. Denominational differences in Christianity may involve different styles of worship. But what is worship essentially? What should worship be? How do we worship God? We try to love God and all that he stands for. Love is the beginning and the end of worship. To worship we must love God with all our hearts and minds. And when we do that, we will desire to be with him always. He will pervade our hearts and minds. Every thought and every feeling will pass through his being. And when people meet us while this is going on, they will see God in us.

To worship God is to be in love with God. Worship is romance of the highest kind. The human being in love with God is what worship is. How can such love be expressed? How can a visible human be in love with an invisible God? To love God in this way is possible only when we love what God loves. And God loves the world. God loves his creations. To love God, we should love what he created. We should love one another. We should love the other person as we love ourselves. And we should love all other forms of life that we see around us. We should love this beautiful earth and take good care of it, just as we take care of our own bodies. When we do all this, we are worshipping God, who is the reason for everything.

To love God means to love what God loves. And God loves us all just as we are. We should learn to love like God. And we should learn from God, who will teach us to love, when we welcome him into our hearts. God will come and stay within us and teach us how to love what we once could not love. He will teach us to love our enemies, and care for those who do not care for us. He will show us how to love, even when we face opposition and rejection. He will enable us to go on loving, even when our love is not returned. This is the kind of love we need to learn, if we want to worship God.

We do not worship God by reading the Bible studiously. We worship God by practising the love that the Bible reveals. We need to experience the love of God, and we need to share it with others. We do not worship God by merely attending church. We worship God by loving one another, not only in the worship place, but also outside it. We should particularly focus on loving those who are outside church. The people of God should actively love those who do not know God. We reveal God to others, only by loving them, as God himself loves us.

So, to worship God we should love others, just as they are, without trying to transform them. Only the love of God can transform people. So, we should learn to love like God, and let that love do its miraculous work in the people we love. We should not judge others unfairly, and we should always remember our own sins, when we try to point out the sinsa of others. To worship God, we should be conscious of God's atoning love all the time. We cannot let a sinful conscience separate us from God. For we will sin as long as we live in this world. Let our sins not separate us from God. We should remember that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Not only should we know this, but we should also actively receive that love daily by approaching God repentantly. We should also love God back by loving what he loves, with his own kind of love, which he will teach us, as we continue to walk with him.

Samuel Godfrey George

God Touched Me On My Arm

2018-08-26T14:47:00.001+05:30

A few months ago, I was standing at the billing counter of a supermarket, feeling depressed about my life. I was considering the various challenges that I was facing in my life. At that moment, someone touched me on my arm, and I turned quickly to see a little child with a big, joyful smile on his face. In return, I smiled spontaneously at this bright, beaming boy, amazed that such a thing could happen. As I left the shop, I turned to the boy to say goodbye, and he smiled at me again happily, though a little shyly. As I travelled back home, the thought of the child's spontaneous gesture filled my mind, and from nowhere tears welled and streamed out of my eyes. "O Lord Jesus, that child was You!" I said, utterly overwhelmed. Later I said to my family, "Jesus came to comfort me. I must not worry."

Today, as I began to worry again, a friend sent me a note that her young son said hello to me. That made me reflect on God’s comforting nature again. Was this gesture also from God? When something wonderfully spontaneous happens, I immediately think of God. God sends his smiles and hellos through his people. Maybe this hello was from God, telling me that all will be well.

After I saw the smiling boy at the supermarket much trouble entered my life. My old computer failed irreparably. Every day I had to walk out of my home to a nearby computer centre, where I connected with the world in some meaningful way that I could find. For three months I did this, despite an aching ankle, which made these journeys strenuous. Many times, I cried out to God, and asked him, "When, O Lord, will you deliver me from this?" But at that time I did not recall the child who brought the smile of God into my life.

Earlier today, in other distressing circumstances, as I sat before my new computer, I recalled the smile of God, when I received this message from a friend, who conveyed the spontaneous greeting of her child. And it made me think of God and how he comforts in small but significant ways. May I receive this comfort from God and not worry about my life.

Let me end with this strange incident. As I lay in bed during the time when I was without a computer, a single drop of water fell on my bare back. Startled by it, I rose to find out how this drop could have fallen on me. There was no source above me from which this drop could have issued. And then I thought of God again. Did God do this? Did God signal His concern for me at that difficult time in my life? God knew how I prayed. I would lie at night in my balcony, looking at the stars in the sky and imploring God in prayer thus: "I'm not asking you for a car or a house. I'm asking you for a computer to do your work and to convey your message of love. Will you not grant me this? How could you be so silent? Do you not care?" And then the drop made sense. Perhaps the Lord was crying with me, comforting me in my time of suffering. Strangely, no drop has fallen on me since then.

When God connects, he leaves little room for doubt. The smiling child, the boy who sent his hello, and the drop that fell are unique incidents that leave little room for any other interpretation in my mind. I am a believer in God. And I choose to see these gestures as divine tokens of loving care. Thank you, God, for touching me with your love.

Samuel Godfrey George

Do you know how blessed you are?

2018-08-26T13:02:00.000+05:30

Do you know how blessed you are? Have you acknowledged the many blessings in your life? Do you know that there are many children who have nobody to take care of them in this world? Have you heard that there are some children who have no parents, and no home? You have been blessed with loving parents and a beautiful home. You have a darling little brother who needs your love.

You live in comfort. You have all that you want. If you need something, your parents will satisfy your desire. If you hurt yourself, they will rush to your aid, and provide you the best medical care.

A child is the greatest joy for a parent. I know that because I have no child. I know what I am missing when I see you. A person may make a lot of money, have many houses, and possess all the wonderful things that money can buy. Yet all the possessions in the world cannot match the precious gift of a child, a child of one’s own.

You are your parent's greatest joy. Similarly, your greatest joy should be your parents. You too may achieve and acquire everything that is within your grasp. Yet nothing in this world will match the love of your parents. What they feel for you is something that no one else can ever feel.

Give thanks for the greatest gift, the love of those who brought you into this world. Give thanks for all the gifts that you have been freely given. Acknowledge the Giver of all gifts. Thank Him. He lives within you. He waits for you to speak to Him. There will be a smile on His lips when you whisper your thanks, with all of your heart and mind and might.

Learn to give. If you have a lot, give some of it to a child who does not have much. Let your giving be motivated purely by love, and by nothing else. Your deprived brothers and sisters deserve nothing less than that. And when you give something away, you will discover that the one who lives within you will give you even more. Go, celebrate your life. You, my child, have been blessed.

Samuel Godfrey George

Parents, love your children

2018-08-26T12:36:00.002+05:30

Having a child would be the best thing in my life. Yet I see people around me, who have beautiful children, and still, are not happy with them. As I write this, I hear a woman screaming from a nearby house. And I hear her teenage son screaming back at her. Their rage is beyond my imagination. They seem terribly unhappy. I have heard that there are parents who send their children out to beg on the streets. I have also heard that some parents abuse and neglect their children. At times, I wonder why some parents are totally undeserving of the blessing of parenthood. In extreme moments, I think that the ones who truly deserve to be parents are without children, and those who don't deserve to be parents are given the blessing of children. I don't know what the truth is. But there is much unfairness, imbalance and injustice in this world. Life is a bag of riddles and inexplicable facts. But in all this mess, there are also wonderful examples of goodness and love. And indeed, this world does have exemplary parents and obedient children, who experience the joy and wholeness that God intended for them. And this keeps me hoping, even as I nurse the hope of having my own children.

Children are among the greatest blessings that God gives us. So, let us treasure our children as such, and love them with all our might. Let parents rejoice in their greatest gifts. May they ask God to show them how to love and care for their children. May they love their children enough to tell them about God, and his great love for humanity. May they also love them enough to let them decide what is best for themselves. May parents not clash with their children and inflict wounds that are hard to heal. But let them love like God, who allows us to live our lives, and make our choices, and not let his love be adversely affected or diminished by any disappointments that we may cause him.

A great act of love a parent can show his child is to let him live his life without the burden of expectations. Let the child be whoever he wants to be. For this is how God loves all of us. He lets us make our choices and live our lives, and even if we disappoint him by the way we live, we cannot be separated from his love, which is always waiting for us in Jesus Christ, his Son.

When I see parents walking along with their children, I see a great blessing that I do not have. And then I imagine how wonderful it would feel when I have a child of my own. How precious the child would be, and how I would guard him with all my might and love him with all my heart! And then, I would realize the enormity of the responsibility that belongs to a parent. Parenting is not something that human beings can do well without the help of God. As a parent, I would always seek God's guidance in all matters concerning my child. I hope and pray that all parents would seek the help of God and consult divine wisdom in their everyday lives, as they relate to their greatest blessings.

Samuel Godfrey George

Remembering Priya Hosali

2018-07-30T03:24:00.004+05:30

Remembering PSBB, KK Nagar

2018-07-30T03:23:00.000+05:30

Remembering Priya Hosali

2018-07-30T02:17:00.001+05:30

I first came across the name, Priya Hosali, while I was at the British Council library in Chennai. I saw a book that she co-authored with three other people, “Indian and British English”. The name stuck in my mind, and I also made a note of the fact that she was a professor at the Central Institute Of English And Foreign Languages (CIEFL), Hyderabad, India. Later, when I decided to pursue a PhD in English, I spoke to my M.Phil. Supervisor, Professor V. Saraswathi about Priya Hosali. We both decided that Professor Hosali should be the one to supervise my doctoral research. Professor Saraswathi gave me a letter of introduction to Professor Hosali, which I took with me to Hyderabad, when I went for a contact programme for the Postgraduate Certificate In The Teaching Of English (PGCTE) at CIEFL.

When I stood outside the office of Priya Hosali in the Distance Education Department at CIEFL, I did not expect to see a middle-aged woman with streaming hair. When she turned to me, she gave me a very sweet smile, which completely reassured me. When I heard her speak so gently and kindly, I was convinced that she was the right person to guide me. She had Western manners despite her Indian name and identity. That appealed to me, for I myself was quite Western in behaviour and speech, despite my Indian identity. Later, while I was staying at the guest house at CIEFL, Professor Priya Hosali surprised me by visiting me in the evening. When I opened the door, I found her quite drenched in the rain, which was falling steadily. She gave me a book, which she wanted me to have before I returned to Chennai, my native town. I was very moved by her considerateness and I decided then and there that she would be my PhD supervisor.

When I returned to Hyderabad a few months later for my PhD interview, I was warned that it would not be easy for a non-CIEFL person to enter into the PhD programme directly. But I was confident of my chances. I already had an M.Phil. from the University Of Madras, under the supervision of the great Professor V. Saraswathi, and I had first-class graduate and postgraduate degrees. I believed that I was a pretty good speaker of English and that I would be able to impress those who would interview me. Little did I know that Priya Hosali would be one of those people on the panel of interviewers. Professor Hosali behaved very professionally at the interview, though I knew her pretty well already. She and the other panellists questioned me about the subject of my PhD research. The interview was not very smooth, for the questions were difficult, and my research proposal was not very sensible. However, Priya Hosali spoke for me after the interview and urged the other panellists to consider me. So, I was eventually accepted into the programme. Professor Hosali was even then more than a supervisor. She reserved a room for me at the Guest House and took me out with her to the Secunderabad Club, for a memorable evening when we dined together and took photographs at the magnificent club, built by the British when they were ruling India.

When I think of Priya Hosali today, I remember the times when I would go with her to the Secunderabad Club. We used to spend our time there talking about our lives and discussing world affairs, while consuming delicious food. We also discussed my research, which was an enquiry into the intelligibility of the standard American English accent in India. This was not something that I wanted to do originally, but Professor Hosali and I thought that this would be a worthwhile area of research, given that American English was becoming increasingly popular in India. To carry out the investigation into the intelligibility of General American (GA) in India, I composed a speech that ran into seven sentences. I requested a speaker of GA to record the speech, which I played back to several Indian respondents, varying in age and educational qualification and hailing from several linguistic backgrounds. I analysed their responses and made a list of findings, which helped me evaluate the degree to which standard American English was intelligible to Indians. As I did this, I passed my Pre-PhD comprehensive examination and I even started to write the main chapter of my doctoral dissertation. But as I completed that vital chapter, my father died and it was a shock that I could not easily recover from.

It was not just my father’s death that affected my PhD research. It was also my growing frustration with the modus operandi that I employed. However, Professor Hosali, and my M.Phil. supervisor Dr. V. Saraswathi thought highly of my work. I was also much distracted by my interest in the Bible and a spiritual awakening took place, which totally sidelined my doctoral research. In short, I was not able to complete my doctoral programme. The end of my PhD was confirmed when I fell out with my supervisor, Priya Hosali, one evening in 2007 after we returned from the Secunderabad Club. We spoke bitter words and I put an end to my doctoral programme that very day. As soon as I reached home, Professor Hosali called me and apologized for what she had said earlier that evening. But I was determined to put an end to our relationship as teacher and student. However, I was open to being her friend from then on. Despite her attempt to patch things over with me, I did not speak to her for the next three years.

It was in 2010, when my mother was hospitalised in a serious condition that I spoke to Priya Hosali. This was three years after the acrimonious evening which put an end to our teacher-student relationship. I apologized to her for not being in touch and also for my behaviour that evening three years ago. She responded kindly and comforted me in my time of suffering. After my mother recovered, I met Priya more than once at the club. Our last meeting at the Secunderabad Club did not take place as it ought to have. I was not allowed to dine there for I was dressed inappropriately ( I was wearing a pair of track pants). So, Priya and I went out to another place to dine. There she thanked me for the video tribute I had made for her mother, who had recently passed away. She gave me a small gift as a token of her appreciation. When we left each other that day, we promised to meet again at the club. This was in 2014. But we never met each other again, though we spoke on the phone a few times since then.

This year, I had the idea of calling Priya Hosali with the intent of meeting her at the club, but it never materialised. Even last month I felt an urgent need to speak to her, but I didn’t call her. Earlier this month, my mother was looking at the obituary column in the local newspaper and discovered that Priya Hosali had passed away. When she told me about this, I was saddened and felt guilty for not having spoken to her in the last few years. I knew that I had missed an opportunity to speak to her at a time when she might have needed my spiritual advice. Priya Hosali was not a Christian. She knew that I was a Christ worker, actively involved in speaking a message of love to the world. She believed in the Hindu concept of reincarnation. I don’t know where Priya Hosali is right now. So, I pray for her, and ask God to have mercy on her.

Priya Hosali was my teacher and friend and we had many good conversations together. I admired her style of speech and writing. I also admired her manners and her appearance. I joked quite a lot with her and she was a good sport even when I made fun of her. She was a great friend to dogs. She had her own dog. She loved animals very much. She wrote a beautiful book about dogs and gave me a signed copy of it. She wrote books about English and taught many years at the CIEFL. After retirement she worked as a guest lecturer at the University Of Hyderabad, and was a language consultant at Deloitte, Hyderabad. Above all, she was a woman who loved the good life. She enjoyed eating and watching movies. She liked to speak about her workers who helped her at home. She spoke mildly in a measured way. I liked her very much.

Priya Hosali once described me as her most brilliant student. Before I abandoned my PhD research, she joked about me with a bank official: “Sam is brilliant, so he will not complete his PhD.” On another occasion she observed that I was a brilliant writer. Her final compliment to me came during our last meeting. On that occasion, I was telling her about how people responded warmly to my work on the social media. She said that she was not surprised by that. “Whatever you do , you do it well” she said to me. She was not always pleased with me. Our egos clashed sometimes. She had this impression that I was arrogant and rude and did not respect her age. But I tried my best to apologize when I crossed a line with her. I hope she forgave me. She said that she did, Once when I apologized to her, she said, “Sam, you are a sincere person.” That I hope sums me up.

Samuel Godfrey George

I Can't Control Myself

2018-07-29T03:12:00.001+05:30

I Do It For Christ

2018-07-29T01:45:00.003+05:30

Trusting In God's Faithfulness

2018-07-29T00:56:00.002+05:30

Still Living And Declaring

2018-07-28T03:04:00.004+05:30

God is good all the time

2018-07-27T15:28:00.002+05:30

Why do bad things happen to good people?

2018-07-27T15:27:00.002+05:30

Batter My Heart

2018-07-20T19:11:00.002+05:30

The Pleasure of Pain

2018-07-20T19:04:00.001+05:30

My Peace

2018-07-20T18:51:00.003+05:30

The Road To Sanity

2018-07-20T18:42:00.002+05:30

Will God give me a second chance?

2018-07-20T15:00:00.002+05:30

Toys - Coventry Patmore

2018-07-20T13:29:00.002+05:30

The Divine Response to Offence

2018-07-20T13:07:00.004+05:30

Enslave To Liberate

2018-07-20T02:35:00.003+05:30

Harmless Joy

2018-07-20T02:33:00.001+05:30

In Love With Nothing

2018-07-20T02:31:00.002+05:30

O Son Of Mine

2018-04-06T18:42:00.000+05:30

The son who brings both joy and pain to his father

The son who brings immeasurable joy also brings great grief. Samuel Godfrey George reads and presents his poem using video captures of Roger Princep from "El Orfanato" (2007). His recorded voice has been speeded up for the purpose of fitting Instagram's video duration limit. #instagood #love #poetry #poem #orfanato #princep #fatherhood #parenting #son #father #video #rogerprincep #pain. #disillusionment

A post shared by Samuel Godfrey George (@samuel.godfrey.george) on Mar 28, 2018 at 12:26pm PDT

The Old Rugged Cross

2018-04-04T13:13:00.000+05:30

The cross of love is what I will cling to till my last breath.