Snapshots and Synapses

Every year, my wife and I celebrate Easter with our kids in a typical, American fashion: baskets, eggs, candy, etc. We also throw in an inexpensive gift. I’d like to say there’s a deep, spiritual reason behind all this, but the truth is: we just love to celebrate and see the joy on our kids’ faces. But maybe this gift-giving tradition in our family points to something we all need a little more: a sense of wonder and joy at Easter. I’m not trying to say that everyone should start exchanging gifts at Easter (Christmas is more than enough commercialization for me). No, I think we need to be more mindful of the reality of His Presence as our great Present. I was reading the Easter story from John’s Gospel before writing this blog, and I was struck by the emotion of Jesus’ first interaction with others after His resurrection: He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tel...

I woke up and started to cry again, eyes welling with tears as I recalled the events of the previous day. In exhaustion, I had finally ended the day with a restless sleep, awakening repeatedly to a cacophony of emotions and inner voices:  Gone. Empty. Worthless… Meaningless! Three years of my life… lost! It had all been a lie!! It was like this last night, wavering between grief and anger: sorrow at his death, angry that he let it happen… and disappointment… so disappointed in my actions. “No sir! I’d never abandon you!” Yet within hours, I pretended as if I never even knew him. So disappointed… but what was he thinking? I tried to defend him! I was quick to grab the sword away from that fellow and strike, but the Master reprimanded ME… and then healed the guy that took him away! All those miracles that he performed, but not one for himself, not even when he needed it most. Not even then! And if not for himself, what about us??? Surely he knew that we needed him!! I wonde...

Context. It frames up a conversation so the dialogue can be directed and efficient. It provides both the boundaries and the background of a conversation: draw the lines too narrow and the topic may never be explored enough to understand the key issues; set the boundaries too wide and conclusions become elusive. Context: a 25 year old sailor in the middle of the Mediterranean privately reading a Bible, asking the Lord to reveal His truth. Believing that God will answer his questions, the young man is bold enough to ask: “Who is Jesus?” Having been raised Roman Catholic, this particular sailor was familiar with the liturgical year, and on this particular morning, he knew what day it was: Good Friday. But although he was raised in a church, the sailor had come to doubt many things. Over the preceding months, he had explored different world views: atheism, agnosticism, Hinduism, etc. But most recently, the sailor had started reading the Bible, coming to the realization that God was ...

Ultimately, there can be no lesson about how to abide in Christ without also discussing the importance of obedience. It’s the foundational requirement of discipleship, but if I'm totally honest with myself, it's the hardest thing to do. Obedience is more than following the directions we agree with or that make sense, it's also stepping out on the water when He tell us to join Him. It's scary and unsettling; we tend to plead with Him: "Just give me the pattern you want me to follow, and I'll figure out a way that I can do it for You, Lord!" But that's not the way He's made for us. He wants us to stay close to Him, following Him step by step, often without knowing where that second or third step will lead us.  We can't fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) unless we are first following the Greatest Commandment (Matthew 22:36-38) to be in a love relationship with God, remaining in Him... regularly... daily... ever more often... walki...