A Light for a World of Darkness
I was convinced it was torture, but then again, what does a little girl from a middle-class American family truly know about such matters? All I knew was that the boxes of shiny glass ornaments were already bearing their hooks, and I was more than eager to find a place for them on the tree. […]
A Debt I Could Never Repay
Editor’s note: Last week, our Options Blog featured a Thanksgiving perspective piece about the sacrifice of giving thanks. Today, lead editor Michelle Melchor also discusses gratitude, but from the thoughtful perspective of having a debt of gratitude. This is the time of year when our thoughts turn to gratitude, expressing thanks for the blessings God […]
The Sacrifice of Thanksgiving
Editor’s note: Next week, lead editor Michelle Melchor also discusses the topic of giving thanks but from the thoughtful perspective of having a debt of gratitude. Don’t miss it. Airline flights have been booked, car tires have been checked and gasoline tanks are full. Turkeys are thawing in the fridge and recording devices have been […]
Building Bridges: 6 Steps to Pursue Racial Unity
Editor’s note: Although the word unity only appears in the Bible a few times, the concept was a major teaching of Jesus. He stressed it among His disciples when they were arguing. He urged His followers to love one another. He emphasized it when discussing the Godhead. And, in His High Priestly Prayer, hours before […]
Jesus and Justice
It’s hard to fathom that my calendar has flipped through five Mays since the 2020 killing of George Floyd. In some ways, America is in a different place after our collective reflection on matters of race and equality. Still, in other ways, our world is even more divided, especially regarding political realities. As executive director […]
The Ripple Effects of Obedience
I was 10 years old when I first got a glimpse of this thing called agape love. It was the 1960s, and my family lived in the Robert Taylor Homes development, one of the many housing projects in Chicago. Like many tenements in the city, the residents lived with fear of rival gangs and other […]
Not the Letter, but the Spirit
Caught in the act! A phrase that usually leads to accusation, conviction and sentencing. There’s no need for further testimony or deliberation since there are eyewitnesses to the crime and the perpetrator has been apprehended. The account in John’s gospel of the woman caught in the act of adultery seemed like an open-and-shut case to […]
An Apprentice Approaches Advent
It’s hard to fathom that another Christmas is just days away. But clues are everywhere. Full calendars, hurried shoppers, Christmas music and festive lights. Every December also ushers in special traditions for Christ-followers, including the observance of Advent. I love Advent because it shifts our focus from presents to presence, from the weighty efforts of […]
“Play With Me, Mommy”
Every day — usually many times a day — I hear those four precious little words from our 3-year-old, Tobias. “Play with me, Mommy!” He loves, and often demands, the full attention of those around him. This summer, the tables were turned. In July, Cru Inner City gathered its staff from across the nation in […]
Spirited Stand for Peace
Marc Henkel and the group from the Peace Campaign were camped out at the corner armed with water, snacks and gospel literature just as they had been every Friday night this summer when a pop, pop, pop echoed a few blocks away. “We didn’t know if it was gunfire or fireworks,” Henkel, the co-team leader […]