gift of submission
I once wrote a book based on a collection of letters that François Fénelon (a French pastor from the 17th century) wrote to a younger friend who was serving in the morally corrupt court of King Louis XIV. Fénelon’s fatherly posture and his call for unflinching devotion to God captured me. Words like this are standard Fénelon fare: “Becoming a follower of God is hard because it requires that we submit ourselves fully to a God who is other than us. We must let go of our insistence that we know best what we need. We must let go of our demands that God act when and how we demand.”
carrying your cross
My wife was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in October 2012. I shared with a friend about the challenges this situation had posed for me. As we talked, he gently told me that this is the cross I have to carry. “Carrying your cross” means living with sickness or a child with a disability, or financial problems, or any difficult circumstance of life. But when Jesus tells us to carry our own crosses, is He referring to life’s burdens?
life or death
In early 2013, a man was arrested for stealing his father’s corpse. The man’s 93-year-old beloved dad had died and his body had been laid in a casket and placed on cemetery grounds, being readied for burial. The son of the deceased, however, had other plans. He stole the casket and brought it home. The reason? He was hoping his father would be miraculously resurrected. Um, that didn’t happen. Instead of seeing his dad’s life restored, the man reaped possible imprisonment and the death of a dream.
the gift of time
As a nurse, Geri knew that at any moment she might be called on to help in a medical emergency. But she never really expected it. One day, as her family vacationed in a northern resort town, a man near her suddenly crumpled to the ground. Geri’s training kicked in. Her quick actions kept him alive.
discover what’s yours
Some residents in my state are discovering lost treasure. Many have reclaimed cash, property, and other financial holdings. With the help of the state’s I-cash program, Melva recovered $296.33 that her previous bank hadn’t sent to her. Robert logged into the program’s website and discovered that his grandmother had left him a $3,000 inheritance. The program’s motto is: Discover what’s yours.
life and submission
Jesus taught us to lay down our lives for others. At its most costly moments, I believe this submission of our wills happens in four progressive stages.
The first stage is recognition. We are presented with a need or a person for whom a decision of submission must be made.
The second stage is deliberation. There will be a cost…
one lost son
This story of the prodigal son is one of the most famous and familiar of Jesus’ parables. And the most personal. For it touches an area that is often the most painful—our children.
In the parables of the lost sheep (Luke 15:3-7) and lost coin (Luke 15:8-10), the emphasis is on the lostness and the relentless efforts of the owners to…
