Simultaneous Currents
In a confluence of emotions,
I can cry
over the cruelty inflicted on people,
And
I can be moved to tears
by God's beautiful work of restoration.
Ways and Means
⏤ 1 Cor. 3:6
When my focus is on results, I will clamor for the biggest levers of power. But when I prioritize process, I can be free to leverage every small moment. Give the gift of myself to the person in my orbit. Whisper a prayer. God doesn't call me to change the world, but he does call me to love the world. It's a test of trust to embrace his ways and means while surrendering results to him.
Familiarity and Fluency
"My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world." ⏤ John 17:15-16,18
In the world, or of the world. We are distinct from the world, but not removed from it. We're not just waiting around. We have been sent with a purpose (to love the world). The essential skill is to be familiar with the world but fluent in the Kingdom.
- 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