It was Ernest Hemingway who once said, “Time is the least thing we have of.” And he was right. How quickly time passes—and how often we lament this. If only we could tack an extra twenty-five or thirty years on to the usual span. There is so much more we want to see, to celebrate, to do. So many places to go, so much to enjoy, to feel, to read, to talk about, to participate in, to encounter. Yet, for each of us, this thing called time is in such short supply.
Read MoreCategory Archives: Christian Living
Making Memories
Call me sentimental, but some tunes really send me reeling. And nobody—I mean nobody—does it any better than Barbra Streisand. Her rendition of “The Way We Were” is pretty close to the ultimate in my book. Remember the words? “Memories . . . light the corners of my mind . . . .”
Read MoreEverybody’s Treat
“My treat!” Nice words to hear, huh? They have flowed into my ears from any number of places. At Thirty-One Flavors on a smoggy, stifling, sweltering August afternoon after I’ve ordered a double-decker “pralines ‘n’ cream, dark cone” with a buddy. He digs deeper, faster. I start licking, smilin’. Full of gratitude, I leave wondering why I ordered two scoops. We laugh. I say thanks.
Read MoreLooking at Life
Snap a telescopic lens on your perspective for the next few minutes. Pull yourself up close . . . close enough to see the real you. From the reflection in your mental mirror, pay close attention to your life. Try your best to examine the inner “you” on the basis of time.
Read MorePhysicians
Of all the professions, that of the physician has to be the most paradoxical. Brilliant and quick-thinking . . . yet unable to write so that anybody (except a pharmacist) can decipher the words. Decisive and disciplined . . . yet more preoccupied than an overworked inventor on the edge of a discovery. He’s the only guy I know who can have both hands in your mouth while asking you three questions back to back as he stares up your nose and has his mind on his golf game. Honest and principled . . . yet lies through his teeth every time he says, “This won’t hurt a bit . . . you’ll hardly feel it.”
Read MoreMemories
When I was deep in the redwoods some time ago, I lay back and looked up. I mean really up. It was one of those clear summer nights when you could see forever. So starry it was scary. The vastI had just completed a manuscript on Philippians, and my heart was full of joy. Not only because I was through (isn’t that a wonderful word?) but because joy, the theme of the inspired letter I had spent weeks studying, had rubbed off. It was as if Paul and I had shared the same room and written at the same desk.ness of the heavens eloquently told the glory of God. No words could adequately frame the awesomeness of that moment. One of my mentors used to say, “Wonder is involuntary praise.” That night, it happened to me.
Read MoreMind under Matter
When I was deep in the redwoods some time ago, I lay back and looked up. I mean really up. It was one of those clear summer nights when you could see forever. So starry it was scary. The vastness of the heavens eloquently told the glory of God. No words could adequately frame the awesomeness of that moment. One of my mentors used to say, “Wonder is involuntary praise.” That night, it happened to me.
Read MoreNobodies
Pull a sheet of scratch paper out of your memory bank and see how well you do with the following questions: Who taught Martin Luther his theology and inspired his translation of the New Testament? Who visited with Dwight L. Moody at a shoe store and spoke to him about Christ? Who was the wife of Charles Haddon Spurgeon?
Read MoreThe Good Samaritan
A Greek class was given an assignment to study the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25–37. As is true in most classes, a couple or three of the students cared more about the practical implications of the assignment than its intellectual stimulation.
Read MoreTact
Wisely labeled “the saving virtue,” tact graces life like fragrance graces a rose. One whiff erases any memory of the thorns. It’s remarkable how peaceful and pleasant tact can make us. Its major goal is avoiding unnecessary offense, and that alone ought to make us crave it. Its basic function is a keen sense of what to say or do in order to maintain the truth and good relationships, and that alone ought to make us cultivate it. Tact is incessantly appropriate, invariably attractive, incurably appealing, but rare . . . oh, is it rare!
Read More