cause celebs
A majority of today’s celebrities have a cause. Whether it’s cancer research, animal rights, human rights, global warming, or a myriad of other charitable undertakings, countless high-profile actors and professional athletes have sought to use their platform of popularity to evoke change.
Instead of considering the impetus behind these stars’ good deeds, however, let’s look at our motivation and the…
we have this day
Debbie Middlemann was telling me about her mother, Edith, the 94-year-old widow of Francis Schaeffer. Francis wrote powerfully and often about the dangers of euthanasia and the gift of life, and now his wife and daughter were putting his beliefs into practice.
Debbie said that hospices in her country slowly euthanize their patients, giving them ever-increasing amounts of morphine as…
no ordinary people
In the book The Weight of Glory, C. S. Lewis makes a stunning claim about humanity. “There are no ordinary people,” Lewis writes. “You have never talked to a mere mortal.” Whoa! Now that’s a welcome thought—especially for those of us who at times feel ordinary at best. Could it really be true that we possess a hidden greatness?
We…
made in God's image
My wife, Merryn, and I once visited a large market in Sydney. On that day a man was cutting out small silhouettes of people’s faces from black cardstock. He would complete one in two minutes for two dollars. We gave him the money and his shiny scissors went to work, his eyes darting between us and his handiwork. Within 2…
loving Jesus
Jesus left earth long before we got here. And despite His alleged appearances over the years, none of us have seen Him. So how can we love someone whom we have never met? Jesus addressed this issue the night before He died.
He promised that He would return in the form of His Spirit to live with us forever. So…
do I love?
In the 1940s, Fred Craddock began serving as a missionary to India. When World War II ended, Craddock’s church wired him funds for a steamer ticket to return home. Arriving in his port of departure on Christmas day, Craddock discovered a disturbing sight. A ship of German-Jewish refugees had been allowed to temporarily dock, and these exiles had been stuffed…
carpe diem
Carpe diem! Seize the day, boys! Make your lives extraordinary!” urged English teacher John Keating in the movie Dead Poets Society.
I like that motto: Carpe diem (a Latin phrase for “seize the day”). It impels me to live each day meaningfully and not waste a single moment. After watching a Hong Kong TV drama recently, I gained an expanded understanding of…
