Because we all—men and women alike—need recalibration, I believe it is wrong to call our spouse names. Even if he has a weakness, he also has achievements. He might enjoy alcohol, yet excel in business administration. She might be a compulsive buyer, yet still be a hardworking housewife. I am not advocating drinking alcohol or... Continue Reading →
To understand the education of children, we might look at how someone tends to his own land. When we see a beautiful garden, we must remember—it did not appear out of nowhere. That plot may once have been overrun with weeds, unstructured and chaotic—or in danger of becoming so. But a wise gardener begins with... Continue Reading →
Correct Discernment Requires Spiritual Formation We often observe that when someone acts differently from the crowd, they are quickly labeled a fool. If someone is not chasing wealth, he is a fool. If he doesn't sit in a pub and get drunk, he is a fool. If he refuses to commit the same sins as... Continue Reading →
Regardless of the fact that we are told the Holy Spirit lives in us, the vast majority of Christians do not live according to this honor—either because they are not aware of it, or because they are not yet able to rise to God’s expectations. Tabernacling the Holy Spirit is similar to how pre-Christian cultures... Continue Reading →
Only God is capable of delivering a person from his sinful condition, through what the Puritans called “strong grace.” They used to say that “strong sins argue strong grace,” meaning that deep moral failure requires an equally powerful divine intervention. Once a person receives such grace, he enters a fragile equilibrium—capable of living according to... Continue Reading →
Faith is unquestionably the foundational condition for a spiritual life, and it is a grace from God. Openness toward God and spirituality is certainly commendable, but in the end, it is not enough. We all know people who profess belief in a divinity or in chakras, yet are unwilling to follow the path set by... Continue Reading →
This is what we need to aim for in the lives of those around us: a flourishing life, one in which their God-given talents and gifts are fully manifested, leading to a sense of fulfillment that encompasses both the physical and the inner, spiritual dimensions. It is important to note that human flourishing is not... Continue Reading →
Jesus is warning us about the true character of life: it is not an easy fight. As John Trapp puts it in his Commentary on John: “There is no avoiding of it [tribulation]; it is not a paradise, but a purgatory to the saints. It may be compared to the Straits of Magellan, which is... Continue Reading →
It is important to challenge the stereotypical ways we tend to think about God—seriously and continually. Although God is omnipotent and omnipresent, He often chooses to act in ways that defy our expectations. For example, why would He choose to work through messengers (angels) when He could intervene directly? And why does Jesus, who is... Continue Reading →
A common and serious mistake is to consider the topic of God as simplistic or childish. This attitude, initially promoted by certain atheistic thinkers, has been gradually adopted and perpetuated over the centuries. As a result, questions about aspects of faith that remain mysterious—such as the existence of human races—are often asked with a tone... Continue Reading →
The Deeper Diver 