Why so many Christians never grow up: Christopher Cook says, “Sound doctrine without obedience leads to intellectual pride. Obedience without truth leads to misguided zeal. Community without truth becomes sentimentality. Truth without love becomes harshness. But when truth, obedience, and love converge under the authority of Christ, something remarkable begins to happen: believers begin to grow up.”
Spaghetti again: Andrea Sanborn reflects on the faithful life in the mundane. S
There is an ancient proverb that says, “The man who loves all women loves no women. The man who loves one woman loves all women.” There is real wisdom in that saying. True love is faithful and sacrificial; flirtatious love is selfish and shallow. We all know people who love the idea of love more than the actual people they claim to love.
There are several ways this disordered desire can show itself. Psychologists have described three common patterns: serial love addiction, seduction addiction, and limerence.
Serial love addiction is a compulsive pursuit of the experience of "falling in love" and the emotional high that comes with romantic excitement.
I love reading, but I especially love reading on vacation. There’s nothing quite like pulling out a book at a pool, on the beach, or with a view of the mountains.
If you are looking to dive into a pool and a book this summer, here are some suggestions:
Fiction:
Theo of Golden by Levi Allen: “A story of giving and receiving, of seeing and being seen, Theo of Golden is a beautifully crafted novel about the power of creative generosity, the importance of wonder to a purposeful life, and the invisible threads of kindness that bind us to one another.”
Blessing the voyage: launching them without losing them: My friend and colleague Stacy MacLaren with a timely piece, “We don’t raise our children to keep them. We raise them to release them.”
An unremarkable life: Jonny Pollock says, “The modern mantra appears simple. Be remarkable. Whether through career achievements, our social media feeds, or our personal brands (don’t roll your eyes, we all have them!), the pressure is relentless.”
While I grew up in a gospel-preaching church that formed the lifelong foundation for my faith, my theological awakening occurred in college. As I grew up in theology, I began to turn my nose up on some of the worship of my youth.
I had outgrown Precious Moments Christianity and left behind worship that felt like nothing more than love songs to Jesus. I’m thinking of sentimental songs like “Above All” where we sang,
Like the rose trampled on the ground
You took the fall
And thought of me
Above all
Why so many Christians never grow up: Christopher Cook says, “Sound doctrine without obedience leads to intellectual pride. Obedience without truth leads to misguided zeal. Community without truth becomes sentimentality. Truth without love becomes harshness. But when truth, obedience, and love converge under the authority of Christ, something remarkable begins to happen: believers begin to grow up.”
Spaghetti again: Andrea Sanborn reflects on the faithful life in the mundane. S
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