Committed to Christian Thought and Reflection
By Pastor Jim
God speaks in history to real people just like us. Unlike ancient or modern philosophers, the God of the Bible does not package truth in the form of obscure statements that only the elite have the possibility of understanding. God spoke in history to real people just like us. The language he used spoke to their culture and to the challenges they faced in their personal lives. He called them to trust him, follow his moral principles, and shape their lives around his glory.
The good news is that God addresses real people this way. The bad news is that it takes some work for us to understand this historic interaction accurately. We have to ask, “What did Jeremiah’s words mean to his original audience?” Answering that question forces us to set aside some of our cultural baggage so we can grasp the eternal principles God disclosed to those who lived in another place and time.
Because God does not change and human nature remains the same, the lessons recorded long ago are relevant to our interaction with God today. The third step in crossing this bridge is to move from the meaning we discover in the pages of the Bible to the implications for our time. If we are called to be holy, what does that look like in our context? If we are challenged to trust that “God is able to make all grace abound to you,” (See Galatians 9:8.) how do we reflect that reality when faced with an unexpected car repair bill or a conflict in a production meeting? If it is foolish to ignore the reality that God is our creator (See Isaiah 29:16.), how do we live as byproducts of his deliberate design in a mechanistic world?
This third step involves wrestling with the timeless truths that punctuate every page of Scripture. God is both infinite and personal. Our existence does not end at physical death. The penalty for sin is death. We cannot be good enough to merit life with God. God is immeasurably patient with human rebellion. Jesus is the exact representation of the Father and the one who offers us rescue from our death sentence. From the beginning God calls humans to a personal relationship with himself. God expects us to tell the truth, respect property rights, and show respect in our families. Systematic theologies use hundreds or thousands of pages to describe all that God has revealed for our benefit.
If the truth remains abstract, we will not change. It will be no more significant than an answer on the Jeopardy game show. If God’s revelation is to benefit us, we must take the meaning imbedded in God’s interaction with the people of the Bible and bring it into our own lives. We are not called to bring the cultural trappings as Muslims do when teaching the Qur’an to people today. They attempt to recreate 7th century Islamic culture in the 21st century. That’s the whole point behind Sharia law. Our task is to see how God’s interaction with others helps shape our interaction with him as a person. It’s not about replicating rites and rituals. It’s about understanding how the Old Testament and New Testament disclose the heart of God and the ways we can live to love, honor, and glorify him as we respond to his grace and goodness and trust in his promises.
Unfortunately, it’s much easier to compile a lengthy list of what God did in the Old Testament than it is to import the lessons of the text into my own life. But when I find the courage to do that, it helps me understand the grace of God and find in him the clarity and courage to make the kind of changes that will deepen my relationship with him and help me to bring glory to his name in my lifetime.
By Pastor Jim
Our culture tempts us to rush to the Bible, grab a thought for the day, and then move forward to the more important issues that shape our day. It’s not surprising that many Christians conclude that God doesn’t make a huge difference in their lives. This hit and run approach cannot bring sustained change into our hearts. It’s too superficial to challenge the mistaken ideas we all have that exert subtle control over our lives.
Oddly, we look at other areas of growth in our lives and accept the fact that it will take time and attention. Losing weight, improving your golf swing, learning a new computer program, or becoming a great cook all takes time and continued effort. But when it comes to feeding ourselves on the great truths of God, we sometimes want a cursory look at the Bible to produce quick and profound spiritual insight.
The process of understanding and sharing the marvelous truth of God’s word to us requires thought and care. Contextualization requires that we first look for the original meaning when we open the Bible. Only after we understand that do we move to understanding the significance of what God wrote then for us to learn from now.
Because the Bible is an historic text, we must try to read the accounts in the setting in which they were written. That means we need to take off our 21st century hat and place our feet in the sandals of the original audience.
One of the ways we can do that is to think about the words the Bible uses outside of our modern context. For example, we tend to filter many of the terms we see in scripture through a psychological grid. This is a modern phenomenon. People didn’t think that way before the rise of modern psychology. Paul’s salutation in the beginning of the book of Romans states, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (See Romans 1:7.) This type of wording accompanies many of Paul’s letters in the New Testament. When we read the word peace, we tend to think in psychological terms. We can assume that Paul desires that we experience inner emotional tranquility, a sense of serenity, or a mental calmness. But that kind of thinking is modern. How would we think of peace without the psychological overtones? Peace is the opposite of war or conflict. It’s a state where the tension and the aggression between two parties is absent. The relationship is friendly, cordial, or perhaps affirming.
The Bible reminds us that our moral rebellion makes us enemies with God. Paul calls those who have not trusted Christ “enemies of the cross of Christ”. (See Philippians 3:18.) The New Testament pictures us as combatants fighting the will of God who strive to put our will first. Only through Christ does the war end. When we surrender to him, the antagonism is replaced with reconciliation as God graciously makes peace through the work of the Son. (See Romans 5:10.) Thus the peace Paul writes about is not inner tranquility, but an objective change in our relationship with a holy God. Inner tranquility may be a byproduct of that new condition, but it is not at the core of Paul’s use of the word peace.
As we read the Bible and ponder the original setting, a thoughtful attitude where we discard as much of our cultural baggage as possible, will help us to see the truth of scripture clearly and discover more of what God seeks to show us through the revelation of the Bible.
By Pastor Jim
Our culture of immediate gratification can harm the attitude we have when we turn to the Bible. Because we are trained to think in terms of “getting something out of it,” we tend to start the process by rushing to find a gem, an insight, or a spiritual secret that will help us through another day.
This quest for a quick personal treasure often results in disappointment. The more hasty I am to get some quick nugget from scripture, the easier it is to fly over verses or chapters that seem irrelevant. This can lead to a kind of cherry picking were we relish a few ideas that seem special and ignore the bulk of the Bible. We don’t stop to think that a different approach might produce more profound results over the long haul.
If we are going to become wise in the ways of God, we must slow down. The first step in growing from the word of God is not the search for insights. The significance of a passage for our lives comes to us after we do some other work. If we start looking for personal implications, we will likely read much of our own thinking into scripture rather than learn fresh truth from the Spirit as he discloses ideas we would never have arrived at on our own.
So where do we start? The first step is to look for the meaning of the text. This is tied to the meaning that the book had for the author when it was written. God is the ultimate author of every verse of scripture. But he used humans to reveal truth in the context of real life. All of scripture was written for an immediate purpose. It became part of the total revelation of God, but its meaning is linked to what God disclosed at a specific place and time.
In some ways, God’s revelation is a commentary on life. God speaks into real circumstances. He gives guidance. He intervenes. He shows us what happens when we disobey or ignore him. He shapes institutions like the nation of Israel and the church. He guides the fate of men and nations. In the dynamic interaction between God and mankind we are called to watch and learn from what God has given us.
So the first step is to ask questions about meaning. For example, why did God speak through the prophet Amos? To answer that, we need to scan the book and look for clues. When did Amos live? What was going on in the days he wrote? Where does he commend the people of his time? Where does he castigate them for wrongdoing? What is there about their view of God that is laudable or deficient? What is the structure of his book? If we could boil down his words into a paragraph, what would it say? How do all parts of the 9 chapters fit together?
If you read these questions and get dizzy, don’t worry. You don’t have to be a scholar to start to answer them. Begin by reading through the book several times. Take your time. Don’t be afraid to do this over several days. You’ll begin to see the big picture. Mark things that stand out. You’ll begin to see some patterns. Ask the Spirit to put you into the situation where God spoke through Amos.
If you don’t have a study Bible, you can consult with Bible.org or other websites. (You will need to be careful because the quality will vary.) If you don’t have a one-volume Bible commentary, I strongly recommend the New Bible Commentary (edited by Wenham, Motyer, Carson and France). You get 1,468 pages for about $30 from online booksellers. Try to avoid cheap public domain commentaries written long ago. We have so much more information about the books now than we did generations ago.
Ask yourself, “Why did Amos, under the guidance of the Spirit, write what he did? What was his purpose? What did God want the people to understand so they could live the kind of life God desired for them?”
This first step—discovering what the words of any part of the Bible meant the day they were first disclosed—will help you discover the meaning of the text. If we fail to do that, we tend to read our own meanings into the text, which will produce a distorted view of what God has said.
By Pastor Jim
I’m generally suspicious of big words. They are often used by people to show off their vocabulary. Sometimes they cloud my ability to understand what is being said rather than enhance it. It is with some apprehension that I call this post “contextualization”. So what am I writing about?
An overly simplistic definition of contextualization might go something like this: Taking an idea or a concept in one setting and helping someone understand the significance of that idea in a different setting. In reality, it’s something we do all the time.
An auto mechanic will try to explain to me how a certain part functions in the car, what went wrong with it, and why it needs to be replaced. If he does a good job in bridging the gap between his expertise and my lack of knowledge, we both benefit. Or a doctor tries to explain a complicated recovery process to a worried family. He does not want to overwhelm them in the medical details that will not help them understand the game plan for their daughter’s recovery. We contextualize when we communicate from one generation to another, one culture to another, or one time period to another.
This process is something that we have to do well in the church in order to convey the truth of the Bible to the people in the world. Unfortunately, we’re not doing a quality job. We sometimes strive to be relevant, but destroy the meaning of the biblical message in our attempt to be contemporary. Expressing truth about the holiness of God, as found in passages like 1 Peter 1:16, can be difficult in a culture where the very notion of holiness is alien. Some describe God as a celestial buddy instead.
We can skip any passage in the Bible that speaks about Jewish circumcision because it is not a social practice we do for religious reasons today. We know the practice itself is not central to the Christian church. So we ignore passages that speak to it. Christians in other ages required head coverings for women based on 1 Corinthians 11:5. Instead of attempting to convey the meaning of the teaching of the passage to us, they simply imported the ancient practice.
Every time you open the Bible, you are challenged to contextualize the teaching to your situation. If you don’t, the Bible will either seem like a strange book that has no relevance in your life, or you’ll tend to twist what it says to fit your preferences, tastes, and preconceived ideas. This is a challenging task, but you and I can grow in our ability to do it. When we succeed, we open our lives up to the dynamic transformation that God wants to produce as his Word and his Spirit impact our lives.
In the next few blog posts, I’ll spend some time looking at the dynamics of this process.
By Pastor Jim
Layers of bureaucracy, like decades of sediment deposited in the mouth of the Mississippi, continue to clog the process of justice in the United States. It’s not uncommon to hear or see a report about a major verdict for a criminal act that took place 2-3 years ago. The laborious process often means that the connection between a criminal act and a consequence is lost. A false charge may result in excessive jail time. A valid charge may result in a lengthy transition period before the legal consequences of the act take place.
Those who defend the current process sometimes argue that it is prolonged so that the innocent are not mistakenly treated as guilty. But it is questionable to conclude that turning a simplified process into a labyrinth of details accomplishes that objective.
The writer of Ecclesiastes points out a serious social consequence when a culture lengthens this period between the commission of an act and its resolution. Ecclesiastes 8:11 states, “When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong.”
That astute insight reflects our culture today. There seems to be the feeling that the consequences of wrongdoing are so delayed that they don’t need to be considered when we are tempted to engage in a criminal act. If you or I were to become so incensed that we wanted to end the life of a neighbor today, we would most likely have 6-18 months before we might face the consequences of a conviction. And so the deterrent of civil punishment feels less sharp. It becomes a “someday” kind of consequence that doesn’t feel all that real in the moment. In an age where clear thinking and rational though is diminished and feelings tend to rule our actions, the ability of “someday” punishment to deter us from doing something highly destructive shrinks.
When we train children, we understand that in the early years they think in concrete terms. They will be more likely to resist bad choices if the bad consequences of those choices are more immediate in nature. If we try to direct their behavior by threatening to withhold a privilege that will not take place for days, it is likely they will go ahead with what pleases them in the moment. Sometimes, even we adults will not be deterred by consequences that are part of our distant future.
The writer of Ecclesiastes understands our nature. Without a clear and proximate connection between our moral choices and the consequences of those decisions, we will become less righteous and more apt to choose wrong over right.
By Pastor Jim
All of us encounter those times when our hearts drift into gloomy thoughts. Our gloomy mood might be related to a health challenge, an adverse financial situation, or some kind of messy relational situation. We can even find ourselves in a discouraging place because we anticipate such difficulties. Everything may be fine in the moment, but we expect some difficulty or adversity to threaten our enjoyment of life, and we become morose and introspective.
Our culture has solutions for such moments. You can visit a psychologist or a psychiatrist, or any other mental health professional. You can turn to the chemistry of modern drugs to change your mood. You can medicate yourself through exercise or food, depending on your inclination. You can immerse yourself in something that will displace your sad thinking—in anything including extreme sports, hobbies, television, movies, sex, drugs, alcohol, and shopping. But we often discover that the relief we get from such things is minimal or fleeting.
The Psalmist reflected this same struggle and found an uncommon answer. In Psalm 43, the Psalmist asks, “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why are you disturbed within me?” The writer treats this as a serious question worth reflecting on. He repeats it in verse 5 and again in verse 11. And it shows up in verse 5 of the next psalm as well. It looks as if he is trying to get down to the reason for the sadness he deeply feels so that he can find a solution that will change his attitude and make it something healthier.
Each of the three times the Psalmist asks this question he responds with the same answer. He reminds himself, “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” (See Psalm 43:5,11; Psalm 44:5.)
His answer for gloomy thinking sounds simplistic, but it is profound. As the Psalmist brought his dilemma before God, the Lord helped him realize something we often miss. The only way to bring unshakable hope into our thinking is to anchor our hope in God himself. The Psalmist understood that there is nothing in life that offers enduring hope—neither health, nor bank accounts, nor people, nor the weather, nor government, nor Hollywood, nor family nor possessions. All these realities are subject to change. They can be threatened by factors beyond our control. The more we anchor our hope to such things, the more we risk eventually losing that hope.
The Psalmist understood from God’s revelation that God is not one who abandons us to the brokenness of our souls and our world. He calls God his Savior. In the time after the death and resurrection of Christ we have come to understand the mechanism of that salvation. Jesus died to make it possible for us to trade our condemnation for his perfect life and to taste a new kind of security as Christ-followers. Though he did not personally know Jesus, the Psalmist understood the rescuing nature of God, and instructed his soul to put his hope in the loving and caring God he was starting to know.
You and I have the same opportunity. But like the Psalmist, we have to instruct our hearts daily on where to put our hope. It will drift to the fragile and fleeting things of this world. And then it will face great jeopardy because the objects of hope in our world are not immune from change or decay. But God is different. He lives above the circumstances that frighten us and the turmoil that threatens our wellbeing. As we learn to make him the center of our hope, we gain an uncommon perspective. We can approach the uncertainties of our world with confidence—not in the success of our plans, but in the character of the one who gave his Son to reconcile us to himself. He does not change. The future with him is not hostage to the trials of life. We can have a growing hope that is secure and untouched because it is fixed on him. The kind of hope that has sustained martyrs through horrific experiences can be ours if we instruct our hearts, “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”
By Pastor Jim
In 2005 ABC’s program “Primetime” deliberately lost 22 items in public places to see what the likelihood was that people would return them. All the items had contact numbers on them, to make it easy for the finder to try to contact the owner, if they wished. The total return rate was 9 items, about 40%.
When it comes to dealing with misplaced property, are there clear guidelines we should follow or is it up to what we want to do in the moment? Does the adage of “Finder’s, keeper’s” shape our response?
Surprisingly, the Bible addresses this issue directly. In Deuteronomy Moses is reminding the generation that grew up in the wilderness about the holiness of God and the expectations he has of them as they prepare to enter the Promised Land. In Chapter 22, they are told, “If you see your brother’s ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to him. If the brother does not live near you or if you do not know who he is, take it home with you and keep it until he comes looking for it. Then give it back to him.” The command inverses 1-2 put a burden on the finder. For the animal that is found will require care and feed. The temptation would be to sell it in order to incur no cost. But God commands the finder to care for the animal and then return it to its owner.
But what about a misplaced wallet, cell phone, or iPad? Verse 3 adds, “Do the same if you find your brother’s donkey or his cloak or anything he loses. Do not ignore it.” The concept behind the admonition is built around the idea of brotherhood. Even though we don’t own the property of others, we are called to bless them and care for that which another loses as if it were our own. Indifference or apathy says, “It’s none of my business.” or “They were a fool not to care for it in the first place.” But the instructions from Moses were given to remind the people that there is a solidarity before God that binds them together and a responsibility that they have to serve one another. Obedience takes us beyond the self-centeredness that can choke our compassion and kindness. It removes us from doing what is only convenient. But that generous spirit helps us reflect the heart of our Savior, whose love produced the greatest sacrifice for us in our personal lost condition.
By Pastor Jim
Some scholars contend that the Bible, and the Old Testament in particular, is not historically reliable. They suggest that a number of editors (sometimes called redactors) took some of the historical information that was available to them and then added layer after layer of tradition and cultural mythology to the documents over the years. The result was a pseudo-historical account that is not really trustworthy. It reflects an idealized view of the history of the Jews that has little to do with the actual historic events.
One of the problems with this premise is that the text of the Old Testament is amazingly real and raw in the portrayal of the leaders who were the icons of Israel’s past.
When we try to re-write reality, we normally take out or change everything that does not fit with the picture we are trying to paint. For example, today’s political gurus try their best to spin the remarks and actions of their candidates. Whenever something embarrassing, contradictory, or ugly emerges, they do their best to ignore it, make excuses for it, or suggest that the public or press don’t really understand what happened. The spin doctors go to great lengths to portray their candidates as the ideal leaders anyone would be eager to vote for.
If the text of the Bible was edited by individuals with the same objective, they failed miserably! Over and over we discover that the editors forgot to change unflattering details about the words and actions of the key figures. We see their cowardice, their disloyalty, their compromise, their mistrust, and their strange thinking.
For example, in the book of Numbers Moses has a dialogue with the leaders of two and one-half tribes. The nation is poised to cross over the Jordan into the promised land of Canaan. Their 40 years of wandering is about over. They have recently conquered foes who attacked them in the terrain on the east of the Jordan, so they have tasted battle and discovered God’s ability to bring them victory.
The leaders of these two and one-half tribes want to occupy the recently conquered land east of the Jordan and not take their inheritance from the other side of the river along with their brothers. (See Numbers 32:5.)
What does Moses do? He blows his top. He jumps to a conclusion and rails against the leaders, calling them a ‘brood of sinners’ (32:14) and launching into a long discourse about how they are like their fathers who feared going into Canaan 40 years earlier. He condemns them for cowardice and predicts that the whole occupation of the promised land will fail if he lets them do what they suggest.
After Moses’ rant, they let him know that they are not afraid to fight, as he assumes. They will gladly join their brothers and even lead the fighting. (See Numbers 32:17.) They were not asking to sit out the conflict because of the danger. They valued the land that had already been conquered because it was suitable for their flocks and herds.
Once Moses listens to the reason behind their request, he drops his opposition. Later he describes this land on the east of the Jordan as land that the Lord gave to these two and one-half tribes.
In the moment, Moses didn’t listen carefully, overreacted, and jumped to conclusions. It’s the same response that sometimes gets us in trouble with others and leaves us embarrassed and looking foolish.
If editors had changed the text of the Old Testament to create a glowing history of the time, this dialogue would have been a great section of text to omit. Why show Moses as hot-tempered, impatient, and a poor listener? The incident does not add essential information in the larger context of the fulfillment of God’s promise of the land and the process of driving out the inhabitants and displacing them with the Jewish tribes as part of God’s overall agenda.
Much of the text in both testaments contains unflattering details that are not essential to the historical narrative. They demonstrate that what we have is not a scrubbed and artificial document created by editors who re-wrote history to fit their theological and cultural preferences. The people and incidents are real, three-dimensional, and prone to weakness as we are today. That reality (as well as the massive manuscript evidence) points to the reliability of the biblical texts.
By Pastor Jim
Television news in central Iowa recently explored the problem of bullying in the public schools. Verifiable claims about the practice are on the rise, and educators and parents are exploring ways to deal with the issue. The current center of attention seems to be on the school administrators. The assumption seems to be that if teachers and other faculty are more aware of the problem and its symptoms, they will be able to reduce or eliminate it.
Though awareness and enforcement can certainly help, neither seems to get to the root of the issue. Bullying is symptomatic of a larger issue that our secular culture cannot combat. Behind the verbal and physical abuse, behind the intimidation and the aggression toward the weak and powerless there is a philosophy that is a logical consequence of a culture that sanitizes itself from Christian thought.
We are abandoning the idea of absolutes anchored in the character of a creator God who made man special and unique. As a consequence, we are left to regulate behavior we find objectionable. We have no way to oppose it on a deeper level. We can add regulations because we don’t like the behavior, but forcing compliance is not the same as changing someone’s perspective. When God is irrelevant, people are ultimately dehumanized. It seldom happens all at once. More often, this comes inches at a time. Language becomes increasingly vulgar and course. Self-preservation and self-advancement replaces compassion. Voluntary personal sacrifice for others is increasingly viewed as foolish. People strive to be strong and powerful rather than noble and virtuous. Life becomes a contest to see who can get ahead, and the human dimension of life takes a back seat to personal ambitions.
Genesis 1:27 insists that there is a unique and special value in every human that is found nowhere else in all creation. We are born in the image of our creator. But when we toss that reality out of our thinking, the power to reorient hearts and minds in a way that brings health to a culture is drastically reduced. All we have left is arbitrary rules and regulations and the accumulation of the power necessary to impose our will on others. We may construct an echo of the kind of world biblical Christianity would produce, but it is a sterile and brittle imitation at best.
For the Christ-follower, full devotion to the rule and the character of the God of the Bible promises a better way. Healing society is not our primary task. It is the byproduct of sincere and sacrificial devotion to the creator and redeemer who birthed our race in perfection and who is willing to rescue us from the moral mess each of us is born into. As we trust and yield to him, we can become agents of an eternal kingdom that brings real answers to the pain we inflict on each other.
By Pastor Jim
One of the valuable legacies of Christian thought in American culture is the belief that people are valuable. We do not embrace the notion that some who are born in a lower caste are created to permanently serve others who are more worthy or inherently more important. Though we don’t always consistently act on this belief, it is a value that most of us advocate. Our families, public schools, and media attempt to echo this idea to emerging generations. It’s reflected in everything from the scripts of “Sesame Street” to the 1946 Frank Capra film that has become a holiday classic called “A Wonderful Life”. Genesis 1:27 is the ultimate ground for this value. It declares that all humans are created in the image of God. By creation, we have a value that exceeds that of everything else around us.
Responsible parents attempt to convince their children that they are valuable. Despite failure, poor choices, bullies at school, personal disappointments, and struggles with the social pecking order at school, moms and dads do their best to infuse their sons and daughters with the notion that they have inherent worth. The last few generations of parents make big deals of their children’s birthdays. They buy them costly gifts. They are quick to celebrate their accomplishments, no matter how small. They affirm and encourage their offspring, hoping to build a positive self-image and equip them for success and happiness in the world. Whether the parental self-sacrifices are reasonable or extreme, they flow from the same belief that their children will be better off as they understand their inherent worth and approach life with the confidence that idea brings.
But there is another idea that often piggybacks on the value of self-worth that is proving deadly to our culture.
It’s one thing to believe in our intrinsic value. It is another thing to believe that this inherent worth means we also merit certain goodies in life. And for many, the confusion of these two ideas leads to a set of expectations that will only bring misery. It’s easy for us to get to the place where we approach life with a laundry list of things we deserve. We assume that other people—and God himself—are obligated to bring certain blessings into our lives because we exist. We are entitled to good health, favorable circumstances, universal respect, and a stress-free environment. And when we don’t experience these things on any given day, we find fault with the world and the God who rules over it.
The belief that we merit such things also cripples our ability to see the connection between our rebellion against God when we sin and our suffering. We prefer to embrace the illusion that the two cannot be connected. We can treat God any way we want and ought to receive immunity from our rebellion at every point.
The people who rebuilt the wall in ancient Jerusalem saw things differently. Because they had an accurate view of God, they realized they did not merit some kind of earthly utopia. In fact, they deserved something worse. As they confess their sins and the sins of their forefathers, they say, “What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds and our great guilt, and yet, our God, you have punished us less than our sins have deserved.” (See Nehemiah 9:13.)
That kind of realization is uncommon. We are more likely to believe that God is too punitive because we want to believe we merit endless blessings. But when we understand our unworthiness and the depth of our failure, the grace and goodness of God become enormous. We stop believing that God owes us a new pile of presents every day we live on the earth. We begin to realize that in spite of what we deserve, he is infinitely kind and loving. Gratitude and thankfulness replace dissatisfaction. But in order for that to happen, we must tear down the idol of merit that casts a long shadow across the terrain of our hearts.
