Posts Tagged ‘hope’
Leaving the Baggage Claim
The arrow was pointing toward the suitcases and duffle bags, but when I saw it I imagined a spiritual sort of baggage claim where weary pilgrims collect the familiar packages and parcels we’ve carried so often. I keep trying to walk past the baggage claim and out on the the sidewalk, but I have bad of habit of stopping…
Read MoreWe Had Hoped
Silence. Then suddenly, a breath. Cold air rushing into empty lungs. Grave clothes abandoned on a stone slab. An explosion of earth-shaking light. Hardened soldiers’ knees buckling. Trumpet blasts and angels singing and sunrise. Silence. Then the creaking of a boulder shifting. A cave opening. A dead man walking out of his grave more alive…
Read MoreGod is Dead
God is dead, and we killed Him. With politics and religion, with rage and fear, with wood and nails and fists we tore apart the body of the God and left Him to hang alone covered in blood and spit and shame.
Read MoreAgainst Images of Darkness
I am powerless against the darkness. I wake up in the morning sore and blurry, fumbling across Twitter while waiting for the black coffee. I see images of the darkness in the palm of my hand. Syria. Ukraine. Another black kid gunned down on our own streets. And we are powerless to stop it. The…
Read MoreHope After
This is a guest post from Jonathan Simmons. He’s sharing his story – even the rough and unfinished parts – with courage and wisdom that is both rare and refreshing. I’m grateful for his friendship, and for his voice. Follow Jonathan on Twitter, and read more from him over at Spit and Mud. So I…
Read MoreThey Won't Be Expecting That
At Christmas time, I’m struck by how unexpected it all is. We expect a god to be powerful, mighty, smiting his enemies, concerned with his own glory. We don’t expect God to be born in a stable — a crying, scared, helpless baby. Don’t forget this. Don’t forget what God did on Christmas. It’s remarkable,…
Read MoreWith Enough Words
There’s a part of me that believes any problem can be solved with enough words. Sometimes folks tell me that I need to just listen and not try to fix everything. But I’m young, and I suffer the afflictions of youth — idealism, impulsiveness, impatience. At once arrogant and humbled, frustrated and ridiculously hopeful, I stand…
Read MoreA Picture of Freedom
Earlier this week I wrote about how the internet is full of beautiful friends that we’ve never met. Caroline is one of those friends. I love this story, and I think you will too. There’s so much of what she’s written here that resonates with my own heart. It’s about everything good and beautiful in…
Read MoreI Don't Want to be a Good Christian Anymore
God, sometimes I feel like I’m not a good Christian in Your eyes, like You’re a Father disappointed in me, frustrated, wishing I would do more, be more, and I wonder are You proud of me? Am I a good Christian? Do I make You smile? I don’t want to fail. I don’t want to…
Read MoreYou Can Be Free
“Brothers and sisters, you can be free!” The words came fast and rushed up from inside my heart. I hurried to write them down, driving on the freeway scrawling nearly-unintelligible phrases on the nearest scraps of paper I could find. That was a month ago. Now I’m sitting here on this cold Wednesday morning when…
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