Which team?
Every time the Olympics come around, we see athletes from one country competing for another. Core identities surface in surprising ways.
Lately, I have been reading Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25). People arrive together before the King, bearing one of many national flags. But soon, they are individually reorganized into one of two teams: sheep or goats. The sheep have already been with Jesus, caring for the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the prisoner. They will continue on with Jesus. The goats ⏤ GOATs ⏤ never saw themselves as part of that team. And never will for all eternity.
Tire Marks
Religious zeal compromises forward momentum, instead making noise and skid marks.
I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. — John 16:12
The fruit of God's Spirit is his nature coming to the surface. God is patient, so we will be too when the Spirit is leading. It's far too easy to move in the flesh, get revved up, and lose traction. Jesus gave us the metaphors of salt, light, yeast, and fragrance to show us that we will have more influence if we move at the pace of love and relationship.
Residence Time
I was given this metaphor several years ago. New knowledge can be like water poured on a plate, splattering all over people. Or it can be like water poured into a bowl that, after a time, gently overflows. One is a flat surface, and the other is a container. Lord, make me a container.
- love
- Holy Spirit
- humility
- church
- politics & society
- mission & witness
- holiness
- parable & metaphor
- identity
- eternal life
- doubt & deconstruction
- leadership
- grace
- justice
- scripture
- spiritual life
- advent & christmas
- poverty & compassion
- imagination & creativity
- technology & ai
- knowing God
- human dignity
- faith & trust
- incarnation & cross
- kingdom of God
- community
- reconciliation
- spiritual formation
- epistemology
- prayer
- gratitude
- culture
- creation & nature
- discipleship
The God of the Bible looks like Jesus, the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being. It would be just like him to go to the cross.