You never can appreciate the light until you’ve been plunged into darkness. It’s a place where all your fears cry out your name and grip your heart. It’s a place where all the bitter reminders of an inadequate life rise up and accuse you. It’s a table reserved for one – as you can neither see nor sense anyone else around you. Darkness is a lonely place, indeed. As the night wears on, the darkness deepens. Every bit of light... Read more
For years I had an old, lime green, International Truck. It had a splintered windshield, a primer brown door, and rust on every surface. And the engine belched plumes of smoke while the holey mufflers roared. Ugly. Yet, I hung onto it. It pulled trailers. It plowed through snow. It went off road. It went anywhere. Sure, I was lured by the shiny Dodge pickup at the dealer. My lust for the new and flashy continually tested my satisfaction for... Read more
Swaggering. Swaying. Tenative. The blind man approached Jesus. They exchanged a few words. And then Jesus spit on the hard clay ground. There’s not a spiritual, holy way to do this. Nor is there Christ-like spitting position. Like every other man who has ever lived, he swallowed hard, and pushed up the milky flem and — did it. It was disgusting to the bystanders. It was pedistrian. Certainly it could viewed with contempt by the ruling class. And the religious leaders must... Read more
Frail. Withered. Pitiful. While visting my father in a nursing home, I became acquainted with a silver-haired woman named Beth. Almost 90 years old, her best days were far behind her. She’d been blind since 1921 after a childhood sickness stole her sight. Looking at her, I admit, I pitied her. Lost in a world where neither your body or your eyes work, it must be terribly lonely. But strike up a conversation with Beth and you’ll find a vibrant... Read more
In just about any business or corporate environment, God is a distant entity. He is visibly forced into the darkest recess, never to be mentioned. Embarrassed, ashamed and self reliant, they do not need a supreme being. That’s what they have a board for. What is interesting is that these very same corporate boards protect their interests by invoking God in their legal contracts. Most corporate contracts have a boiler plate clause called Force Majeure. The term literally means “greater... Read more
Image via Wikipedia Why did God create a world that is not only functional, but extraordinarily poetic and lovely in every way? Author Fulton J. Sheen says it is the same reason that we find it hard to keep a secret. “Good things are hard to keep. The rose is good, and tells its secret in perfume. The sun is good, and tells its secret in light and heart….God cannot keep the secret of His love and the telling of... Read more
(We are honored to have this post featured in today’s High Calling Blogs. Please visit and post a comment while you are there.) Radio comic Garrison Keiller has told the joke hundreds of times about the fictional town of Lake Wobegon, “where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.” We might laugh about it, but deep down, in our own fictional towns, we actually think it’s true. Our children never... Read more
Short of the Olympics, the Super Bowl is the world’s most-watched sporting event in the world. And advertisers pay a top dollar to catch the eyes of those viewers. In a first for them, Focus on the Family has shot a 30-second video that will supposedly give a pro-life message. The commercial features Florida Gators superstar quarterback Tim Tebow and his mother, Pam. Although the exact contents of the commercial aren’t revealed yet, we do know that during her pregnancy... Read more
As a boy, there was nothing I loved more than to be with my Dad while he built things in his workshop. With precision and deft skill, Dad grasped each board. He carefully measured twice and then with a confident cut, sawed it in two. Each piece would fit perfectly like a complicated puzzle. Although he used the tools of his trade — hammer, saw, screwdriver — it was ultimately his hands that impressed me most. They were strong, skilled,... Read more
When life hits you hard, it’s not always easy to remember that this is just temporary. When you are gasping for air, you forget about another world — a place where there is no more hurt, no more fear, no more frustration. Right now, I need eternity desperately. I long for a home away from this home. But I can’t get there right now. I can’t find the escape hatch. Am I stuck? So I look around and suddenly I... Read more
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