Posts from November 2022

Henry Dunant looked out his window at the streets of Solferino, Italy in 1859. War gripped the town as Italians, Austrians, and French soldiers fought each other with violent hate. Not content with idleness, Dunant organize aid workers to attend to the soldiers who lay wounded and dying or already dead. He refused to identify whether a soldier was an ally or enemy, instead offering solace, comfort, and medical attention to any combatant in need. Later, Dunant recommended that all…

Late in his ministry, Paul lamented the departure of Demas, “For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica” (2 Tim 4:10). Our modern sensibilities are shocked to hear that Demas went from a co-greeter in the letters to Colossae and Philemon to having deserted the mission in only a few years. What happened to Demas? What led him astray? Paul gives an insight when he says Demas was “in love with this present…

Ferguson, Charleston, and Minneapolis have become synonymous with racial strife and flashpoints for debate. To the shortsighted, racism has plagued America since its birth. According to these people, we walk on ground saturated with the blood of racial violence, and recent events continue to fertilize the fruits of racism. But these claims are simplistic and misleading. Racism has dogged humanity since the tower of Babel. The division of languages forced separation and developed new cultures in isolated regions (Gen 11:9).…

Mercy defined the Savior’s life and mission. From lepers to sinners, he had compassion on those in need—even when they didn’t know their need. In his mercy, he offered health and life, and taught his disciples to do the same. Even now his gauntlet lays before us, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Mat. 5:7). Mercy? The Romans didn’t show it. Their philosophy of “no quarter” led to cruel measures to keep order in occupied Palestine. The…