Simply Love

A friend recently wrote me a note of encouragement, which he closed with these words: Keep the main issue the main issue: “The whole point of what we’re urging is simply love—love uncontaminated by self-interest and counterfeit faith, a life open to God.” (1 Timothy...

God is Love

I sit on the sofa in the light of the lamp, and I pray through 1 Corinthians 13—you know, the famous love chapter that’s read at a lot of weddings. I tend not to like this chapter of the Bible. It always feels like an indictment of how far short of love I...

A Holiday by the Sea

Jesus said, “Love one another as I have loved you.” –John 15:12 If you asked twenty good men today what they thought the highest of the virtues, nineteen of them would reply, Unselfishness. But if you had asked almost any of the great Christians of...

A Letter to My Daughter

You turned four this week. I confess, I was a little surprised that you’re just now four: you’re so tall, so articulate, so mature, I often forgot you were only three. For the times this year when I forgot how young you were and so expected more from you...

A Little Love

“We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed.” –Brother Lawrence I weary of the endless dishes and the still more endless laundry. I weary of feeding the...