Sometimes I wonder why we try so hard to be perfect and blend in. Because perfect is boring. It would be very bland if we all looked alike. It would be very boring if there were not any variety. And not just that. We would also know so much less of God. You will notice that the variety of bodies is stunning. Just as there are different kinds of seeds, there are different kinds of bodies—humans, animals, birds, fish—each unprecedented…
Sometimes our path of life seems so desert-like. Stone after stone after stone. We might feel that God has abandoned us in the middle of nowhere. We would like that our pathway of life would be something else than it is. Or at least we would like to see where we are going. The picture above reminds me of the fact that, even though, our path seems not to have consistency or any other quality we think a happy path…
Once I overheard a discussion between two successful young professionals on a train. It sounded like they had graduated together from a graduate school a while back with big dreams. And they had gone and achieved them all right. A good job. A beautiful wife. Wonderful kids. A comfortable house. A fast car. Extensive travels. Yet they were asking: Is this all there is? We think we can find happiness on our own. We think we know how to find…
The metaphor of the vine and the branches is very powerful. It emphasizes the importance of being organically connected to God. It reminds us that our aliveness is totally dependent on God’s grace. It gives us a chance to be part of God’s kingdom work here and now. “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to…
I’ve never felt comfortable writing a Mother’s Day post. And even this is mostly an unlikely one. I have a wonderful mom (love you!) and I love being a mom. But my heart goes out for anyone who would (have) like(d) to be a mom and isn’t. I don’t feel comfortable boasting about my blessings. (But we are certainly encouraged to count our blessings). The only thing I want to boast about is God’s grace. And that is the best…
“What is it that you want? Do you want an easy life? Or do you want what’s best for you? Do you want to fit in with the crowd? Or do you want to abide in Me?” Can you hear God challenging us this morning? “So, Jeremiah [insert your own name here], if you’re worn out in this footrace with men, what makes you think you can race against horses? And if you can’t keep your wits during times of…
I once posted this Eugene H. Peterson quote on the Flowing Faith Facebook page and have not been able to forget it ever since: “What a waste it would be to take these short, precious, eternity-charged years that we are given and squander them in cocktail chatter when we can be, like Jeremiah, vehemently human and passionate with God.” I think all human beings are afraid of wasting their lives. We crave for meaning and purpose in our lives. It’d…
Is life worth living? Is there purpose for your life? The writer of Ecclesiastes seeks answers for these existential questions. And most of us ask them at some point in our lives. Why on earth are we here for? What’s there to show for a lifetime of work, a lifetime of working your fingers to the bone? One generation goes its way, the next one arrives, but nothing changes—it’s business as usual for old planet earth. The sun comes up…
Blaise Pascal’s famous quote “Not only do we not know God except through Jesus Christ; We do not even know ourselves except through Jesus Christ” gives us a lot to ponder. It states that Christ is the only way to God. But that’s not so surprising. It is one of the fundamental beliefs of Christianity. But the second part -that states that we can’t even know ourselves without Christ- can sound a bit odd for many. How could our identity…
How does Christian living look like? How are we supposed to spend the rest of our lives when Christ lives in our hearts? The Bible gives us some guidance: As a result, they don’t live the rest of their human lives in ways determined by human desires but in ways determined by God’s will. (1 Peter 4: 2, CEB, emphasis mine) Aha. We should look for God’s will for our lives. How do we do that? Don’t be conformed to…
