Pond Water
Let's be clear.
In my office, I have a jar of pond water. It's a mixture of grit, sand, silt, and other pond-y stuff. When I shake it up, I'm reminded of how most of us move through our days. Life's ingredients suspended by the churn. When we want some clarity, we can pause, allowing the big bits to settle. But if we need things to be really clear, it will take more time, a lot more time.
Good Will
What is goodwill? We should take time to regard its value.
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. ⏤ Luke 2:14 KJV
The goodwill announced here at Jesus' birth is God's favor toward us. Goodwill is also an intangible asset on a company's balance sheet. It's the difference between the firm's market value and its tangible assets. There's something more to life than the concrete and visible, tenuous as that 'more' may seem at times. Consider Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "Christmas Bells," on which the carol "I Heard the Bells" is based.
In
Not better, but other.
Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. — Philippians 2:14-16
Inserted, implanted, embedded, injected, introduced. Something foreign has been placed into a warped and crooked generation—something blameless and pure—a brilliant navigational reference set against the darkness.
- 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
- love
- Holy Spirit
- humility
I practice the spiritual discipline of rescuing earthworms on paved surfaces. It's a reminder to me that I can pause what I'm doing, get a little dirty, and help. Also, that I've been given the responsibility to care.