love

The Need We Never Outgrow

Scripture Focus: “We love him, because he first loved us.” — 1 John 4:19 The Beatles once sang that “All You Need Is Love.” It was catchy enough to become something of an anthem, although the 1960s had some rather questionable ideas about what love was supposed to look like. Still, buried beneath all of…
More Than a Passenger

Scripture Focus: Mark 4:36-38 “And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was…
Until Hearts Are Ready

Isaiah 30:18 “And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.” For years, I assumed this verse was primarily about my waiting…
The Measure of Love

True love nurtures growth. It doesn’t simply accept someone as they are and leave them there. It patiently encourages what’s good, gently corrects what’s harmful, extends grace when grace is needed, and quietly draws out the very best in the one it loves. When I stop and think about it, isn’t that exactly how Christ…
Room for One More

One of the things I learned to appreciate about my father is that he never seemed to spend much time asking whether he could afford to help someone. He simply helped them. That probably sounds reckless to some people. Looking back, there were certainly times when our own circumstances weren’t exactly overflowing with abundance. We…
The Chapters Before Us

Father’s Day has a way of making me think about things I didn’t understand when I was younger. Not because nobody explained them to me, but because children have a limited view of the world. They see what’s directly in front of them and assume that’s the whole story. When I was little, I knew…
Known and Loved: No Masks Needed

Scripture Focus: “[Love] Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” —1 Corinthians 13:7 It’s hard to imagine a life completely free from shame, embarrassment, and that awkward little inner critic that seems to keep detailed records. We cringe at things we’ve said, choices we’ve made, weaknesses we wish weren’t there,…
The Language of Love and Light

Scripture Focus: “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” —Ephesians 4:29 Words are powerful little things. They can build a bridge, open a door, calm a storm, or accidentally start one before breakfast. And most…
Holding On Through the Storms

Scripture Focus: “Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it…” —Song of Solomon 8:7 Real love is not a paper umbrella in a thunderstorm. It’s not the kind of thing that collapses the moment the wind picks up or life starts throwing sideways rain. Scripture describes true love as something stronger than…
Growing Faith

Scripture Focus: 2 Peter 1:5-8 “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that…