Love – Desperate for God

Freedom from Fear

Fear’s facade now flickers, fades, and soon flies away.

Fear is a gift. Our capacity to fear is necessary for human survival and flourishing. It can protect and propel us to do what we never believed possible. Yet, not all fear is created equal. It can also devolve into something entirely other—a destructive force stealing our joy and hijacking our hopes. Unfortunately, most tragic of all is that often we are unable to discern the difference between fear as friend or foe. Why?

Having and Eating our Cake

And now I whisper back to the Wind, “You alone . . . yes, You . . . You are my Home.”

As a Christian, is it possible to have a faith that is rationally sound and experientially meaningful? Can we really “have this cake and eat it too?” While such a faith is eagerly sought by many, there’s often an unspoken skepticism against the quest for a more experiential faith. Clearly, cases of unhealthy and unorthodox emotional practices have given reason for such caution. Yet, I think more is going on than just the concern of an unhealthy emotionalism. Why is this?

Love and Free Will

Light hand knows confidence. Tight hand knows fear.

Controlling love is an oxymoron. The moment we try to control by means of love is the moment we cease loving. It matters not if our control has good intentions or is kind and gentle. We cannot and must not call this love. Therefore, love respects the other’s free will—to choose however deemed best. To manipulate or remove this choice is to simply confuse love with self-interest.

Stewarding Love

Tantalizing temptation of tight hand upon you returns upon me.

Surrendering to God will cost you everything. But this is nothing compared to what he gives in return. Spiritual, physical, emotional, and social health are just some of the riches we discover from submitting our hearts to God. Recently, we’ve discussed how such surrender is the best asset for healthy social relationships and today we’ll consider the implications of this claim.

Facing the Fear of Trust

Light hand relaxes… it knows where to place its tight hand – on God.

Human relationships rise or fall upon the currency of trust. Yet for so many, trust does not come easily. It’s difficult because it requires exposure; and few things are more potentially devastating than an exposed heart. Some people never move past such loss and most only do so with great emotional and mental effort. But if we’re willing, God can help us learn to trust again.

Love and Significance

Promotion of life in light grip . . . and love’s flower blooms.

Human beings are intrinsically social. Our rich and complex relational skills uniquely distinguish us from any other creature on the planet. Regardless of introverted or extroverted personalities, humans are wired to be most complete when in relationship with others. Genesis 2:18 speaks of the importance of humanity’s social origins when God declared, “It is not good for man to be alone.”

Surrendered Love

The next several weeks of posts will be based on our most recent devotional poem, “Light Hand or Tight Hand?” Click here to see the full text.

Light hand holds as only a steward. Tight hand in idolatry grasps.

There is no pain deeper than lost love and no joy greater than its acquisition. When we unselfishly love, we become more complete for we partake in the very nature of God (I John 4:12). Wars have been fought, fortunes forsaken, and unspeakable suffering endured all for the cause of love. So, to find love is to find the greatest of all gifts. And when it’s found who would dare let it go? We should and we must if we hope it might be what we dream that it could; for this is exactly what God asks us to do. Continue reading “Surrendered Love”

Seeing With the Eyes of Faith

I now can see, I have new eyes.

Faith is a mystery, plain and simple. It is not dependent upon what is seen yet it is able to influence what we see. As human beings we tend to believe what we see but as Christians we are called to believe what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1). So what exactly is the relationship between faith and sight? Continue reading “Seeing With the Eyes of Faith”

Blind No More

Love eternal, love divine –always present, rarely observed.

Many times, what we desire most is right before our eyes. Such blindness is revealed time and again from the most successful to the least accomplished. Simply put, people regularly fail to see and appreciate the blessings they’ve already been given. Continue reading “Blind No More”

Animated Reading: Kairos

This week we launch our eighth animated reading. The next five weeks of blog posts will draw from themes in this poem. If you like the video, please share with others.

Kairos

Troubled traveler seeking solutions –

Thoughts racing, heart pounding, noisy life’s

Questions demanding answers, body exhausted. Continue reading “Animated Reading: Kairos”