Reflections on the loving kindness of the Triune God
Two questions. First, what do we want from God? And second, what does God want from us? As a courtesy, let’s take the second question first. Because God, as Creator, has honor over his creation. This shows my bias as a Christian. What does God want? To start I’ll chase a variety of options. Each …
Read More What God wantsMartin Luther coined the phrase “theology of the cross” in his Heidelberg Disputation of 1518. The cross, he held, is where differences between human and divine loves are sharpest. Human love seeks personal benefits and satisfaction—whatever is good. While God’s love forms what is good in humans. “Therefore sinners are attractive because they are loved; …
Read More Two kinds of loveHow does faith reshape our appetite for freedom? Freedom has been a human ambition from Adam and Eve onward. It’s ironic, given our deep reliance on others: in being birthed and raised; in learning; in work, family, and daily needs; and in our final interment. There is a healthy impulse to leave home to enter …
Read More Dependent HeartsWe’ve looked at Deuteronomy 6:4-5—the “shema”—that Jesus called the greatest commandment in Mark 12:30. So we’ve listened and see it as the pathway for life. It started with the “eyes of our hearts” being opened. So faith isn’t our moral self-improvement. Or our endorsement of doctrines. Or our working to achieve marks of orthodoxy. Instead …
Read More A Vision for Life: ConclusionCenturies ago, Puritan theologians charged their opponents with treating Scriptures like a “wax nose.” Truth can be pliable, like an actor’s face reshaped for a Shakespearean play. Is it still a problem? Of course. And not just in religion. It’s true of advertising, news-making, and identity-building. It’s summarized in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful …
Read More Wax nosesIn Gentle and Lowly Dane Ortlund wrote, “He [Jesus] sends his grace to us, personally, individually, eternally. Indeed, he sends himself—there’s no such ‘thing’ as grace …” (p.211). Yes, Jesus shares God’s grace with us by the Spirit, so divine grace is his expansive love. And while we may recognize many special acts of divine grace, together …
Read More Finding GraceAdam’s fall reset our human identity. The forbidden fruit consumed Adam and Eve. And we still live with the bitter aftertaste of their choice with so many today missing what we were made for. Let’s reflect on that day. Adam and Eve were created as the singular male and female “man.” They were, together, a …
Read More Bonding to JesusWe need prophets. Weeping prophets. Who love Jesus and his Father. And who grieve over the tragic spiritual state we’re in today. Think of the difference between a doctor who tells a wife of her husband’s terminal cancer with a tear in his eye; and another who is professional and distant. We prefer and trust …
Read More Weeping ProphetsBible history offers contrasts between God-seeking hearts and hard hearts. Let’s chase some heart stories here and see what we can learn. King Saul, for one, had it all. All except a heart for God. He certainly acknowledged God. He also had a big physical presence. He was king over God’s chosen nation. But God …
Read More Calling all heartsJesus, God’s Son, became a man so he could die. Amazing … but why that extreme? The writer of Hebrews answered, “[T]hat through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” [Heb. 2:14-15]. …
Read More Defeating Death