Reflections on the loving kindness of the Triune God
How do we respond when we’re served? Do we treat the service as a nice benefit that deserves a tip if it’s done well? Or is it something we expect—a benefit appropriate to our status? Or do we receive service as a kindness that delights us? Answers may vary, of course, depending on the context. …
Read More Good ServiceAnger remains a puzzle for many Christians. We all wrestle with it in daily life but it still holds some mystery. Is it ever okay to be angry? The puzzle is that the Bible affirms God’s anger—and sometimes allows for it in believers—but then confronts it as evil in most cases. Why? Is there an …
Read More Anger ManagementThrough the centuries the Church’s perception of the Holy Spirit has often been overstated or understated. The Montanists, for instance, stirred a strong reaction by their claims of immediate Spirit-direction. And centuries later Joachim of Fiore mistakenly posited a new Age of the Spirit to displace the presumed passing of the ages of the Father …
Read More Catching the Spirit of RomansPaul’s epistle to the Romans is well known for presenting the nature of faith. One commentator claimed, more broadly, that knowing Romans well will keep readers from heresy. Amen! Yet there are some interpretive shoals to navigate. Let’s consider one, in chapter 2:14-15. Competing views of this text have produced very different and competing versions …
Read More Reading RomansI’ve experienced many of the services offered by service industries. Airports, hotels, trains, car rentals, restaurants, and the like, are regular features of life lately. So here are some thoughts on how to find the best service possible. First, services are reliable: companies remain consistent in being either strong or weak. So I always pay …
Read More Finding the best serviceEverything. God wants everything we have, and all of who we are. Not more and not less. God’s ambition for us is heart-based: he wants whole hearts. That includes our mind, soul, and strength. Or, in contemporary terms, our time, our employment, our money, our devices, our attitudes, values, marriages, plans, and everything else we …
Read More “You want what?!”Are you happy? And—to press the issue—is happiness your aim in life? I ask because the answer, yes, is widespread. The classical religions and their teachers—led by Greek and Roman philosophers in particular—made happiness an ultimate value. Aristotle, for instance, was a “eudaimonist”—one who seeks goodness-satisfaction-happiness—and he made the state of happiness his measure of …
Read More Happy?Here’s a practical question that quietly divides Christians. Is Christ personally present to believers in faith? Or is he an iconic object of faith who offers us spiritual benefits from afar? Different answers change the basic shape of applied faith and explain some key distinctions among Christians. To be clear, this question differs from our …
Read More God’s PresenceWhere do we stand with God? Is he pleased with us? Are we confident about the future—sure about eternal life? Hopefully, yes, but let’s pause to think about it. And let’s ask the question in light of God as the Father, Son, and Spirit God. Justification—our engaging God’s righteousness—is a biblical linchpin for Christians. The …
Read More JustifiedA month ago some news sources offered passing comments about a June, 1914, assassination in Sarajevo—a century ago—that launched the wars of the twentieth century. The first stage of warfare was called the Great War because of its breadth and ferocity. Some—the optimists of the day—called it the War to end all wars. Instead it …
Read More Cyclic Centuries