• Sin & Repentance

    If I forgive them …

    Tonight Fred and I were talking (again) about my struggle to forgive some people who have hurt me. At one point during the conversation, I asked him, “But if I forgive them, then won’t I be giving up the one thing I have on them?” “What do you mean?” Fred asked. “Well, I can’t hurt them like they’ve hurt me or restore what was taken from me (I don’t have the power, resources, or authority to do so). I can’t make them understand the depth of suffering they’ve caused me and cause them to grow in compassion and love. I can’t force them to change or grow or help me…

  • Sin & Repentance

    “But I don’t believe in God!”

    Last week my dear friend, a devoted atheist/anarchist, told me that recently he had a strange dream involving horrifying demons trying to drag him to Hell. He remembers thinking (in the dream), “I should pray!” But then he remembered, “But I don’t believe in God. I have no one to help me.” What a terrifying realization. No one to pray to. No one to help me. No hope. I think it was an essay by C.S. Lewis that I read back in college where he wrote about how even the most devoted Believer, at times, struggles with thoughts such as, “Is there even a God?” And likewise, even the most…

  • Relationships & Peacemaking

    Peace IS Possible!!

    I am bowled over, yet again, by God’s merciful and abiding grace. Today I spoke with a dear friend who just months ago felt much (much!) more like an enemy. We had experienced a horribly painful breakdown in our relationship and things got so bad that we couldn’t even stand to speak with one another directly. I didn’t want to be around her and I know that she didn’t want to be around me either. But now? By God’s miraculous grace, I can honestly say that hearing her voice is a delight. If I had a Friday night and she was free, I would love to spend time with her,…

  • Sin & Repentance

    Is it an idol?

    Yesterday, Sophia Grace (my sixteen month old) learned the word, “Mine!” So now I have front row seats to a dramatic, live production of James 4, verses 1-3: “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something and do not get it. So you kill and you covet because you do not get what you want.” In this passage, James reminds us that, so often, when our desires (even good desires) are elevated to demands, and our demands are not met, we will often punish the people in our lives. In effect, we sacrifice them on the altar of…