Home Awaits
Read: 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 We have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. (v. 1) In college, I took a course that included watching Citizen Kane which, due to my youth and inexperience, I failed to appreciate. I thought, Why would the richest man in the world go to […]
Not Destroyed
Read: 2 Corinthians 4:8-18 This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory. (v. 17) One of the most-viewed boxing matches of all time is 1974’s bout between Muhammad Ali and reigning world champ George Foreman. Younger, heavier, and stronger, Foreman was favored to win. Ali spent four rounds taking punishing blows. […]
Shining through the Cracks
Read: 2 Corinthians 4:1-7 God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts. (v. 6) In 2019, Ben Kirby started the Instagram account PreachersNSneakers featuring pastors wearing expensive designer shoes and clothing. He intended it to be humorous. But it has proven to be an incisive critique of the phenomenon of […]
Living Letters
Read: 2 Corinthians 3:1-11 You are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit. (v. 3) As a pastor, I occasionally write letters of recommendation. A high school senior might request a recommendation for a scholarship application. A job seeker may need a character reference. I am always happy […]
The Smell of Victory
Read: 2 Corinthians 2:12-17 Thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession. (v. 14) Growing up, I regularly visited dairy farms owned by friends and family. I loved everything about these visits—except the smell. Once, when I said to my father, “It stinks here!” he replied, “I think it smells wonderful.” […]
Always Yes
Read: 2 Corinthians 1:12-22 All the promises of God find their Yes in him. (v. 20) Years ago, McDonald’s ran a TV ad that featured a busy father and his young son. Throughout the day, the son runs up and asks things like: “Dad, can I parachute out of my bedroom window? Can we go shark […]
The God of All Comfort
Read: 2 Corinthians 1:1-11 Blessed be the . . . God of all comfort. (v. 3) In his memoir A Heart That Works, Rob Delaney begins with a challenge to the reader. Imagine, he says, that your beloved child has contracted a deadly disease and you are forced to watch, helpless, as they die. Delaney begins this way because […]
God Is Still God
Read: Lamentations 5:15-22 But you, O LORD, reign forever. (v. 19) At the conclusion of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, Sydney Carton is about to be executed for a crime he didn’t commit. He’ll die in another man’s place, yet goes to the guillotine with serenity. Why? He imagines the other man living a […]
Vain Hope
Read: Lamentations 4:11-17 We watched for a nation which could not save. (v. 17) In December 2008, Bernard Madoff was arrested for fraud. For years, Madoff promoted a massive Ponzi scheme consisting not of real assets but money contributed by investors. By the time the scheme was exposed, the money was gone. Thousands of investors, who […]