Reflections on the loving kindness of the Triune God
Centuries 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 nosesI happened to be in England just after Queen Elizabeth died. The trip—arranged two months ago—was set up to visit friends. Yet it felt like a small providence to be in London at the time of her funeral. As I wrote here a few years ago, I once met her—for all of eight seconds—and that …
Read More Queen Elizabeth IIIn his rich biography of Martin Luther, Heiko Oberman wrote of “The loneliness of the truth…” [247]. It’s an intriguing idea. Can truth be lonely? Truth can be awkward and unwanted. It’s what an honest teacher tells a failing student. What a closeup photo offers an aging actor. Or what a doctor reports after an …
Read More The loneliness of the truthHow’s our faith? Does it work? Or is it a work in progress? A key: faith starts with God, not with us. The story of the “rich young ruler” helps here. The man asked Jesus about heaven. Was his pristine religious life enough to gain eternal life? Jesus answered by first asking him about his …
Read More A Trustworthy GodHere’s a key for sound spiritual health: give God thanks in everything. Always. Tell him you recognize how good and faithful he is. Even in hard times. This invitation is striking—a real reach. Yet it’s also biblical, a pathway of faith, and a sign of Christ’s presence in us. Jesus, by his Spirit, works in …
Read More Spirituality 101Grocery stores can have bad moments. Think of a bad orange in a produce bin. Part of the skin is collapsing into a grey-green paste, with a white ring spreading around it. A good orange, on the other hand, is a joy. Years ago I volunteered on an Israeli kibbutz for six months to study …
Read More AbidingJames reminds us of capsized values. “…you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’” [James 4:14-15]. He’s right. We usually …
Read More “Instead”This is a follow up to our five posts on “believing” in John’s gospel. What else can we learn? How, for instance, do strong thematic strands that accompany “believing”—such as love, grace, light, life, truth, glory, and more—fit together? This question, never fully answered, invites readers to keep reading reflectively. Seeing Jesus as divine is …
Read More Jesus on Believing – an AfterwordThis is the last of five posts on John’s theme of “believe” in his gospel. We took up the topic because of John’s stated aim—“Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the …
Read More Jesus on Believing, 5 of 5This is the fourth of five posts about the use of “believe” in John’s gospel. Jesus, before his crucifixion, called on his eleven disciples to be braced for what was coming. “Let not your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me” [John 14:1]. To believe in one is to believe in …
Read More Jesus on Believing, 4 of 5