Tried With Fire

The words "Jesus" and "God" are used by many, but what do those words mean? What does it mean to be a "Christian?" Is it okay to press for a clearer definition of those terms and how a person is using them, or is that being too nit-picky and unloving? Should we just take everyone and what they say at face value?  If we are upfront about our theological distinctives, we then have a platform from which to let others know what confessions we align with the most. This way, we aren't being manipulative in our conversations and with our teaching. With proper boundaries set in place, we can acknowledge where we agree and disagree, all with the common goal of sharpening one another according to the Word of God and the working of his Spirit. But this requires a resolve to take theology seriously , take ourselves less seriously, and desire to grow in a meaningful way. Pretending that we are all on the same page and overlooking important differences can only f...

When I was young, my sister and I would play house. If we were in the mood, we would go back in time to "the olden days" and imagine we were a pioneer or colonial family. We even used a cardboard tube from Christmas wrapping paper as a pump handle and made sure we did not turn on the tap in the play sink. But we didn't know how hard life was back then. It never dawned on me, as a child, that Laura and her family nearly starved to death during that long, hard winter . Families in the community banded together and held a Pride and Prejudice Ball several years ago. I sewed matching regency ball gowns for my daughter and myself. We attended English country dance lessons in preparation. It was so easy to romanticize about life in that era especially after watching the Colin Firth/Jennifer Ehle version over and over again. But we were pretending to be the gentry, not servants or the working classes who had no ability to "quit the sphere" in which they were born. ...