Essay

“They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, ‘What do you want?’ or, ‘Why are you speaking with her?’ Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said…

Today I unpacked my suitcase for a trip I didn’t take. I don’t much like unpacking after a great trip, but I’m usually happy to be home and enjoy remembering what I did as I fill the laundry basket. I…

Isaiah 54:1-10 and Zechariah 8:1-8 One cultural observer describes life today as “coping with the flux.” Our age is characterized as a time of ever accelerating change, motion, flux. Everything seems up in the air. All the familiar landmarks for life seem…

Almost a month ago my family flew out to visit my sister and her family in Seattle, Washington. It was a short trip of just four nights and three days, but it was well worth the late nights and early…

Our lives consist of an innumerable succession of moments, and most of them seem to pass unremembered into oblivion. We cannot remember in the evening the thoughts and feelings we had in the morning, much less the thoughts and feelings…

Perhaps you’ve heard the story about the woman who received a text message that said, “I am here for you.” Immediately, she wrote back saying how good that made her feel. She’d been going through so much lately and was…

The rooster jolted me awake at 3:45am. I was on a tour group led by Marlin and Sally Vis, midway through a ten-day trek around Israel and Palestine, and we were staying for a few days with Palestinian Christians in…

Today I will spend part of my afternoon teaching a class at the Handlon Correctional Facility near Ionia, Michigan.  Handlon is home to Calvin University’s only satellite campus where our inmate students are receiving Associate’s and Bachelor’s degrees as well…

Toshiko Sasaki worked as a clerk at the East Asia Tin Works factory. She made breakfast for her family, cleaned up, then proceeded to her forty-five minute commute to work. Toshiko took charge of the personnel records in the factory…

Genesis 3:1-4:16 The woman took her place in line with the others. Her hunched gait and wrinkled skin caught my eye as she made her way among the guests at the homeless shelter. With her son she sauntered up to…