Grains of Sand

Pixabay Sigmund Brouwer tells this story in his beautiful book, The Carpenter's Cloth . " During Jesus' time there was one way a carpenter let the contrator know a job was finished. A signature, so to speak. "Imagine a hot afternoon in Galilee. Jesus has completed the final pieces of a job he has worked on for several days. The hair of his strong forearms is matted with sawdust and sweat. His face is shiny with heat. He takes a final—and welcome—drink of cool water from a leather bag. "Then, standing to the side of his work, he pours water over his face and chest, splashing it over his arms to clean himself before his journey home. Wth a nearby towel, he pats his face and arms dry. "Finally, Jesus folds the towel neatly in half, and then folds it in half again. He sets it on the finished work and walks away. Later, whoever arrives to inspect the work will see the towel and understand its simple message. The work is finished. "Christ's ...

Pixabay A couple of weeks ago our small group was working on a study on the life of Moses prior to his decision to flee Egypt after having killed the Egyptian slave master. But much of our discussion revolved around an earlier decision: Moses' choice to not be identified as the son of Pharaoh's daughter but to identify himself with God's people. " By faith, Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. " (Hebrews 11:24) We talked about how difficult such a decision might be and the temptation to try to influence change from "inside" rather than distance oneself by identifying with those on the "outside." Yesterday I discovered that an organization I have been volunteering with has openly endorsed a lifestyle choice that I believe violates God's creative design and redemptive purposes. The organization is a great one on many levels and while I applaud their efforts to help the vulnerable in...