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I Love You to the Moon and Back
“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” –Psalm 103:11-12 On the way to church this morning, my husband mentioned during our small talk that the odometer had just turned over to 66,555 miles. “Just think,” he said. “We’ve driven a little over a quarter of the way to the moon!” Although I knew the moon hadn’t been our destination these past ten-odd years of driving, I had to laugh at his delightful way of mapping our progress. It started me thinking about…
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Dear Christian, Never Give Up!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BZmuz88KEY “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” –Luke 15:20 The entire fifteenth chapter of Luke is a series of three parables about lost things: a sheep, a silver coin, and a younger son. It is worth noting that all these things have progressive value. The sheep would have been commonplace, the silver coin (worth a day’s wages) would have been of far more value, and anyone could relate to the irreplaceable loss of a priceless child. Now, tax collectors, various “sinners” of all sorts, the Pharisees, and…
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The Camel and the Needle
But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is [for those who trust in riches] to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?” –Mark 10:24-26 What? Is Jesus saying that he can’t save rich people, or that wealth is bad? Wretched out of context, you might think so. A more careful reading reveals so many things jam-packed into this relatively short conversation in Mark chapter 10! First, there seems to be a contradiction here…
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Love, the First Commandment
He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'” –Luke 10:27 I recently read the parable of the good Samaritan, and couldn’t help but notice the first commandment that God gave the Israelites was to love him. And it wasn’t to be a casual love, but a whole-hearted, deep-in-your-soul, to-your-last-breath, wholly-conscious love. This must have been a unique concept of God at the time, for I can’t imagine people who worshipped pagan gods felt any affection for their idols. It is the only true God who initiates relationship…
