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Lingering
Linger means to be slow in parting or in quitting something and tarry means to linger in expectation. These 2 words have taken on new and impacting significance to me lately. I was impressed how Mary Magdalene saw the Lord as she lingered at the tomb (John 20:11-18). Mary not only saw the risen Lord, but she was sent on the crucial mission to go tell the disciples. Mary’s lingering at Jesus’s tomb brought new insights and joy to her soul. John provides another example of someone who lingered. It seems that John wrote the Gospel of John; 1, 2, 3 John; and Revelation in the 90’s A.D. Which means…
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Hanging on to Hope
An unexpected divorce. An aging parent’s diagnosis. An unnerving wait in an emergency room. An untimely death of a friend. Events like these can shake even the most stoic among us. We detest conflict. We dislike difficult diagnoses. We despise death. And we should detest, dislike, and despise disruptive life events because they remind us that life is not the way it should be. Yet Jesus, on the eve of his crucifixion, told his disciples that though they would have trouble and tribulation in this world, they were to “Take heart! Have courage!” (John 16:33). How could Jesus tell his disciples (or even himself, for that matter) to “take heart!”,…
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Called To Disciple
Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to have experienced and learned from Jesus during His earthly ministry? The other day my husband and I were having a conversation regarding the way we respond towards different people and their circumstances. He told me that I was like the apostle John and he was more like Peter. Who was John? Well, John was spoken of as the disciple Jesus loved. (John 13:23) The Scripture is clear that John was the brother of James and the son of Zebedee. (Matt. 4:21-22; Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-16). He was a fisherman by trade and an ordinary man. Many are familiar with John because he wrote five books…
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Unexpectedly Beautiful
The temple mount towered in the background. The Gate called Beautiful cast a shadow on a man’s weathered face. Friends carried him to the gate every day, and he spent his hours pining for alms. He eked out an existence by playing on others’ piety. There was nothing beautiful about this man’s life or the religion practiced within the walls that stood behind him. The temple excluded the needy from its entrance because of their infirmities. The place that should have brought spiritual healing only gave handouts. So he never expected to find salvation outside the temple gate. As the hour of prayer approached, the man continued his plea for…
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What Makes New So Beautiful?
New. What comes to mind when you think about that tiny but enlivening word? A home with freshly painted eggshell walls? A classroom full of wide-eyed kindergarteners? An unknown city bursting with possibilities—and anxieties? When I think about new, I envision a clean white shirt, freshly pressed with a hint of starch mingled with my husband's scent. I love fresh, new things. But I crave the familiar too. Do you? Flip through the book of Revelation, and you won't find much that's new—at least at the beginning. Images of destruction, fear, and horror stain the pages—until you reach the end. Then everything changes. In Revelation 21, the author paints a…
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A Letter to John
Dear John, Criticism will grow over your writings, but thankfully your reputation, as a devoted follower of Christ will endure the test of time. So much of what you have said has had an impact in my life that I could never express my gratefulness for you. And so today, I thought I’d write down some of those things—the things that I have learned from you—so that perhaps maybe with these few words, I can honor you. I love that you accepted your position of honor as you stayed close to the Savior and walked by His side. You, the disciple that Jesus loved, figured out what it…
