The Blue Church

When you live in a big house, you don’t have to be too careful about accumulating things. There is plenty of room without crowding, and the temptation is to be lax about what to keep and what to throw away.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.
Let me tell you why.

First, it’s uncomplicated and straightforward. You probably have noticed that Thanksgiving is the least decorated of our major holidays. No Santas, no angels, bells, bright lights, or trees.

One of the smartest men I ever knew was a high school math teacher. He was patient with those of us who were not numbers people, and he often would help me after class when I was stuck, as I often was.

If you ask Christians where their spiritual struggles lie, many, if not most, say “in my prayer life.” This seems strange when you consider the hundreds of encouragements, examples, and models of prayer in Scripture.

Life is complicated. Schedules conflicted, information mistaken, words misunderstood, our health or even our loved ones snatched from us: all of that is a formula for stress.

As a child I saw missionaries as larger-than-life characters. Our pastor read at least one prayer letter each week, and prayed over the requests. Occasionally they came in person, with slides and displays and stories and artifacts of faraway peoples, lands, and customs.

Poetry has fallen on hard times.

Articles with titles like, “Who killed poetry?” (1988) and “Is Verse a Dying Technique”? (1934) long ago were highlighting what any careful observer of our culture can tell you: Poetry as a common art form has been disappearing for some time.

In Philippians 1:21, the Apostle Paul records a profound statement: “For me to live is Christ, to die is gain.” The verse is quoted so often that perhaps its pious ring insulates us from its impact.

Usually when we think of danger, we think of guns, knives, high cliffs, smoking aircraft engines, or, today, a virus. But Jesus says dangers like these can kill only the body; the true danger is the eternal danger of the soul.

Our culture’s love for so-called “reality TV” and “survivor” programs may cause us to shake our heads, wondering what all of the fuss is about. Why would we tune in week after week to see who will be voted off the island, get fired, or be “deselected” by a potential mate?