Elizabeth’s blog last week about loving the sinner got me thinking about Jesus living as a man. God came in the flesh as an imperfect human—a transition that theologians consider one of the most mind-boggling acts in history. The Son of God rising from the grave was far more natural than for him to take on flesh in the first place. By his fleshly nature the grave was incapable of holding him...
Loving the Sinner
“Hate the sin. Love the sinner.” How many of us have heard that? How many of us have thought deeply about what that actually looks like? In over 30 years of living in Christendom, I’ve consistently heard only one description of what “loving the sinner” looks like. It is almost universally described as telling the sinner why he’s a sinner and calling him to repentance and faith...
An Open Letter to People Seeking Marriage
While a married couple does have responsibilities to each another, and are bound by solemn vows, I have found through eleven years that the simplicity of kindness, sharing interests and life experiences, and sticking with one another through fears and failures, is the most meaningful part of a marriage. Kindness is perhaps the most underestimated thing in the world...
Living in Front of a Crowd
The sociologist and philosopher Jurgen Habermas observed that with the increase of technology, people have a different sense of self. We see ourselves as performing for a crowd—an “audience-oriented sense of self." It is good to recognize yourself as living in front of others. Even seeing our lives a being “on display.” Paul told the Corinthian believers that their lives were like letters, being read by those around them...