The Way

Yo soy el camino, la verdad y la vida. Nadie puede llegar hasta el Padre si no es por mí. — Juan 14:6

I can get too familiar with familiar language. For a long time, I read this verse, in English, as: if I follow the ways of Jesus, I can be admitted into the Father's presence. That sounds like earning. Reading this in Spanish, and hearing Jesus say, "I am the road...," hit me differently. The focus is on Jesus' work, not my works. This is reconciliation.

Charity and Charis

Two nouns that look like they must come from the same word root. And they don't. Charity comes from the Latin word caritas; it's an English word for agape love. Charis is Greek for grace. Grace means gift, and agape love is the gift of self. The two words may not share the same etymology, but they do share the same Source!

Red Notes

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. — Romans 12:1

Jesus gave us the notes. Our craft is to make worship music with them. New Testament virtuosos, like Paul, trained the earliest churches within their contexts. Now it's our turn. Covers are fine; some covers are better than the original. But we can write our own music too.