Life's Inanities and Ironies

  The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7) is not a list of optional ideals for super-Christians. It is the King’s description of the character and influence of those who belong to His kingdom. Immediately after the Beatitudes, Jesus turns to His disciples and says: “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:13-16, KJV). These words come after Jesus has described the blessedness of the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the pea...

I was a very fortunate young man. When I first began high school in the small town of Argos, Indiana, the Lord in His kind providence connected me with a group of young people who would become friends for the rest of my life. This vibrant Christian group influenced me in ways I am still discovering more than fifty years later. It was not only those young people themselves, but their families who left such a profound and lasting impact upon me. At that critical season of life, I learned far more about what a true Christian home should look like simply by watching them than I ever learned in my own home. No matter how earnestly I tried over the years, I was never able to fully replicate the warmth, the godliness, and the Christ-centered atmosphere I observed in those homes. How I wished I could have! What brought all of this into sharper focus for me was the news, just a couple of days ago, that one of the "kids" from one of those families had unexpectedly been called home to b...