Have you ever risked sharing your pain with another person, hoping for a listening ear – and gotten an earful of unsolicited advice instead? Have you ever gone through a tough time, only to have a well-meaning Christian quote, All things work together for good? It’s pretty obnoxious, and downright unbiblical, the way we tend to respond to the suffering of others. For some reason, we consider it our duty to fix things, to explain what God is up to, and to make sure we put a smile back on our friend’s face. Is this how God tells us to treat those who are suffering? The writer of Continue Reading
God Wants Friends, Not Just Servants
Have you ever found yourself hesitating to quiet down and listen to God, because you are afraid of what you might hear? If God really speaks to me, he’ll probably send me to deepest, darkest Africa, or at least he’ll tell me I can’t drink coffee anymore. Why do we do this? Why do we assume that our Heavenly Father is only interested in giving us hard assignments or forbidding us pleasure? God called Abraham his friend. He referred to Moses the same way. After they had followed him for a while, Jesus told his disciples, “I no longer call you servants, but friends.” The whole point of Continue Reading
What the Leaves Mean
Raking autumn leaves is one of my favorite outdoor chores. It also tells me something about life. I was raking up quite a collection – crispy, furled maple, golden lilac, bright red burning bush – when I saw a metaphor. The true glory of a tree is not always evident. For most of the year, its leaves are green. Only in the autumn does the chlorophyll in a leaf recede, revealing the actual color that was there all along. So autumn is the brief season during which we get to enjoy the revealed beauty of the trees around us. The apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians, “ And we all, with Continue Reading
How to Shape a Conscience
He thought he was alone in the room. He knew he shouldn’t do it. But temptation won over restraint, and my 2 year-old reached for the forbidden vase. “Danny!” I said firmly. He jumped as though jolted by electricity, then swiveled his head wildly, looking for me. How can she be everywhere at once? Unbeknownst to him, I had been watching him through a little open window from our kitchen as he played in the family room. Close supervision is a requirement for parents. So is training in obedience. Kids don’t come into this world knowing what best for them. They need to be protected Continue Reading