I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

- Jesus (John 8:12)

I love light.  When we have too many overcast days in a row, especially during winter, I can feel my inner light begin to flicker, and the cold seems that much colder.  But when the sun finally starts to peek through the clouds, it’s like God saying, “I’m back!”  I particularly enjoy it when the light bursts forth in distinct rays, like announcing a grand entrance.  Scottish theologian and author George MacDonald wrote that God gave the British so many nasty days that they might appreciate the good ones.

Jesus is often portrayed in the gospels and in Revelation as a glorious being, emanating a great light. While John of Patmos may be referring to a physical feature (Revelation 1:14,15), and likewise the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9), Jesus’ comment is of a spiritual nature.

Prior to the Son of God’s arrival, the world was in darkness.  Even the established religion of the land felt oppressive.  God felt less like a father, and more like an awesome force to tremble before.  And even with Christianity’s 2.5 billion followers, much of the world still seems in darkness.  The light of Jesus is needed now more than ever.

It’s interesting to note that he called himself the light of the world.

Read more »

Lord knows I’ve tried.  Well, maybe not as much as I would like him to think.  But I have tried.  I’m great at flash prayers, like “help me” and “thank you.”  I do them daily.  But the sit-down-with-the-Master-and-have-a-nice-conversation prayers, not so good at.

I have prayed for people in my family, starting with my wife, followed by my children (oldest first), then their spouses and my grandchildren, moving through the branches of the family tree.  Didn’t get very far. So I would go over the events of the previous day (in reverse order) and give thanks for (or petition for) the characters or events I had encountered.  Got sleepy.

Praying at bedtime, however, is not so bad.  Then when you get sleepy, which is soon, you’re right where you need to be.  It doesn’t work so well if you’re kneeling by your bed (tried that a few times too).  But it beats counting sheep.

I even attempted to use the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) as a rough outline for inserting my own experiences in daily life.  Nada.

I feel bad.  I really, really believe in God.  And when things go wrong, I can pray like there’s no tomorrow.  But I was taught that a daily dialogue with the Almighty is essential to my Christian development.  Was I taught wrong?

Read more »

While standing as a prisoner before Pontius Pilate, Jesus explained to the Roman procurator that he came to earth in order to testify to the truth, that everyone on the side of truth would listen to him. (John 18:38)

Pilate responded with:

“What is truth?”

If Jesus had answered that question, we have no record of it.  But maybe he didn’t need to answer it. Truth is truth.  So why do we have so much trouble with it?

Listen to any sound bite, talk show comment or politician, and you can easily see that the whole truth doesn’t always surface.  Sir Winston Churchill said, “Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.”

Read more »

It’s finally here.  After 43+ years of “workin’ for the man,” I am now my own man.  No more rushing to work, dragging back to the house, then squeezing food and sleep in between before it starts over again. Now I enjoy walking in the park every day with my wife and dogs, getting free coffee and doughnuts with the other old folks on senior day at Kroger, waiting for my car to be fixed rather than leaving it, and being able to hop in the car whenever my wife says, “Let’s go to …” — any time of the day.

And, thank God, I have lived 59 days of it so far.

Read more »

When things just don’t add up.  When total agreement seems unachievable.  When being of one mind is a fleeting fancy.  These are the times that try men’s souls.

But Thomas Paine wasn’t looking for reconciliation when he penned those words.  Five months after the Declaration of Independence, facing the onslaught of British forces at Baltimore, Paine refused to believe that God would abandon their cause and give them over to those who would enslave them.  Two days later, on Christmas Day, George Washington would take his troops back across the Delaware to certain victory.  But this was not reconciliation.

Reconciliation tops the news these days as Congress attempts to force vote the passage of healthcare reform in order to avoid gridlock.  However, this only results in half of the country being happy (?); political partisanship will still keep unrest stirred up.

The word reconciliation comes from Latin, meaning “to make good again.”  For something to be reconciled, it must have first to have gone wrong.  True reconciliation doesn’t just require agreement. Even acknowledged forgiveness is not enough.  Hurts can’t just be forgiven; they must be healed.

Read more »