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Sorrow and Love: Finding God’s Presence in Our Pain
About once a decade, Easter or Resurrection Sunday falls on my birthday. This year is one of those times, and last month brought me closer to Jesus’ wounded side through some painful experiences. I’ll share just one of them here for now. What began as a beautiful ski trip to Beech Mountain ended in the emergency room. On day two, I crashed on the slopes and dislocated my shoulder. The pain was brutal. Although I hope you’ve never dislocated your shoulder, you more than likely have your own pain you could share. Pain takes many forms whether physical or emotional, and the two often interconnect. What I learned from last…
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Why the Resurrection Makes Forgiveness Possible
Have you ever struggled to forgive someone? Though we know intellectually that we should forgive because God forgave us, we sometime struggle emotionally to let go of hurts that others have done us. But she wronged me. You don’t know what he did to me. I’m not excusing others’ behaviors and actions. More than likely, we all have felt some form of injustice. Perhaps we have knowingly or unknowingly injured someone as well. But the point is not what people do to us but how we respond to them. We can’t control their actions, but we can control our response to it. When Steven R. Covey tells the story of Holocaust…
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The Paradox of the Cross
The Romans used the cross as a merciless method of execution. Crucifixion embodied the cruelest form of torture, shame, and Roman brutality. Yet, we Christians see the cross as a symbol of hope. Because of the cross, we have the promise of eternal life in heaven, a place prepared for those who trust Jesus’ atoning blood, shed for us. Have you ever stopped to consider this paradox and how it might appear to someone unfamiliar with the gospel? In The Revisionary, Portia has no understanding of the Christian faith. She’s never seen a Bible and can only wonder about the book George Washington clutches, as shown in a decaying statue. So…
