Homeward Bound

We live in an age of innumerable errors. There are false religions, false views of man, false views of God, false views of salvation, false views of the nature of truth itself. There are false views of justice, false views of morality, false views of sexuality, false views of the end and telos of man. And that is not even opening the can of worms that is politics where we observe countless examples of governmental overreach and failures of magistrates to do their divinely appointed jobs. Human life is trodden over in the name of personal choice, evil is called good, and what some have termed a “soft totalitarianism” seems to be on the rise.  Suffice it to say, a lot of people are wrong about a lot of things. In such an environment it is tempting for sound minded Christians to take hold of the battle standard and begin berating everything and anything that is in opposition to the truth. Social media and other online tools make such crusading easier than ever, gifting everyone a virt...

I recently talked with an older man at my church and we shared some of the challenges we were facing in our different seasons of life: me with my 3 kids and my job, and him with some career decisions he is facing. I confessed some of my stoical tendencies with regard to my family, my tendencies to “suffer through the difficulties” and just get through it, and he gave me a perspective I am very much thankful for. He told me that his now grown children are not walking with the Lord and he regrets not spending more time investing in his kids when they were young. He said the time goes by so fast and that he wishes he could go back and do things differently. The child rearing season is such a short moment and before you know it, it’s gone and there’s no getting it back. Implicit in his self-reflection I sensed a challenge to me: “Don’t squander this precious moment, Daniel! To me, a young dad in the thick of things, this is exactly the perspective I needed to hear. My friend could not go ...

In our day, mental health dominates discussion and the term has bloated to an exceedingly broad umbrella, encompassing everything from psychological disorders to anything that makes me anxious or leads to mental discomfort. A google search defines mental health as “a person’s condition with regard to their psychological and emotional well-being” and it is to this expansive definition that I refer to in this post. I am not writing about disorders, mental illness, or many of the viable medication offered for mental health; only the preeminence this broader category has taken in the modern mind over every other category, and particularly that of religion. In The Coddling of the American Mind , the authors recognize a concept creep in the category of “safety,” and one example is in the term “trauma.” Trauma up until 1980 was used only to describe a “physical agent causing physical damage.” After 1980 Post Traumatic Stress Disorder became the first type of traumatic injury that is not physi...

One of my favorite qualities about myself is my ability to “get through things.” It may run on the Harris side, but regardless, it consists of being able to disengage my emotions when I have to get through something. And I do not mean anything traumatic, only the stuff of normal life. One example is a job I had for a few years which was not only monotonous and unfulfilling, but looking back I believe I was truly unnecessary to the team. I was not being used anywhere near what I judged my potential to be, and the work I did was almost entirely nonessential. My leadership was not utilizing the data I produced, and if I was to go missing for a week or a month I am certain no one would have been the worse for it. But, true to form, I held on to that job for a few years because, well, it was a job! Jobs are not held for the fulfillment they provide but for the money and my young family needed the money; and I cannot help but look back on that with a little pride. I did what I had to do and ...

If you are an evangelical like me you have probably heard and used the popular slogan “It is not a religion it is a relationship” to describe the differences between Christianity and other works based systems. Unlike most every other religion, Christianity is unique in that it does not offer “salvation” as a reward for performance. “By the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight.” We are saved by grace through faith, and this is not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works (Eph 2:8-9). Jonathan Edwards once said so well: “There is nothing we contribute to our salvation but the sin that made it necessary.” Instead of a string of endless duties where we must obey or face the threat of exclusion and damnation, Christianity offers sonship and security to those who know Christ: those who are found in Him and born again. Furthermore the emphasis on relationship in Christianity is important and unique. It means we are not left to doing dry duties, No! We get to know ...

I recently read The Horse and His Boy and since I had long forgotten the plot and the conclusion, I enjoyed the whole thing as if it was the first time. What a brilliant, well-constructed story. It takes some time to get going but by the end the story fits snuggly like a glove, resolving every uncertainty and lose end in a work of pure Lewisian craftsmanship. On top of that, I believe it speaks directly to some issues in myself, namely a preoccupation with self with tendencies to self-pity. I was struck by the self-pity of Bree, the kidnapped Narnian horse who in the story is escaping homeward from the southern deserts of Calormen. He is a charger, a beautiful white war horse who has fought many battles, even earning acclaim for his feats in this foreign kingdom. But during the flight northwards to his homeland, in one instance he does not appear so grand. Bree and his company are attacked by a large lion and it is Shasta the young boy, not Bree the warhorse, who turns around to fa...

I have been trying to do some Bible memorization with my eldest son before bed. We started Psalm 23 last night which drew me to reflect further on what might be the most well-known Psalm of all. Like the Psalms do so well, chapter 23 provides a remedy for many of the issues we have in modern times: fear, panic, anxiety, hyper-activity, depression. Starting with the Shepherd and His relationship to the sheep, Psalm 23 deduces how this relationship transforms our life as well as out state of mind in the midst of varying circumstances. Because the Lord is our Shepherd we shall not want. He makes us lie down in green pastures and beside still waters. He restores our soul and leads us along the path of righteousness. Because He is with us, we will fear no evil in the valley of the very shadow death. His rod and His staff comfort us. In the presence of our enemies He prepares us a table. Spurgeon writes on this 5th verse: "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies...