Harmony of Grace

I have often written about my attraction to nature, particularly to climbing mountains. I have discussed at length how I feel acutely aware of God's presence with me when I am sitting on top of a peak, looking out over the vast beauties of God's creation. The problem is that in recent months, I have been swamped. Overwhelmed with meetings, assignments, seminars, and the urgent needs of every oom and tannie in the church, I have had no time to retreat into the wilderness to connect with God in a deeply intimate manner. Reading Into the Silent Land by Martin Laird has reminded me of a deep truth that many of us (myself included) often forget. We do not need to venture off into the wilderness to connect deeply with God. While these sacred moments in nature help us to become more acutely aware of God's presence with us, God is within each of us and we can connect with God even in the middle of our busy lives. "We can never get closer to God because God is already within us...

This past weekend was our annual confirmation camp where the youth of our church go away for the weekend to prepare for their upcoming confirmation service. We were extra lucky this year as the farm that we were staying on does not have access to electricity (although I don't think lucky  would be the word that our youth would use when describing that fact). But it was a great opportunity to set aside all of the distractions that come with constantly being glued to our electronic devices and focus on connecting with God and each other.  Spending a few days in the wilderness, away from technology and the busyness of life, was truly refreshing for my soul. I have always enjoyed withdrawing to a still, private place for an occasional spiritual retreat, but I was reminded this weekend of the value of good community. One of the biggest things that the COVID pandemic has robbed us of is regular, deep connection with others. Yes, we can experience community virtually and some might e...

Image Source:  Zhang Kaiyv Last week, I wrote about visiting sacred spaces where we are instantly more aware of God's presence with us. You can read that post here:  Sacred Spaces It is great to withdraw to the Sacred Spaces in our lives where we best encounter God. Unfortunately, it is not possible to stay there forever. In the story of Jesus’ transfiguration ( Matthew 17:1-9 ), Peter wants to set up tents on the mountain to prolong his sacred encounter. Peter was the first of many to try and make his sacred space more permanent. When I was sitting on the mountain at the minister's retreat two weeks ago, I would have loved to have stayed in that moment for hours. However, it was starting to get dark and I had another session to get back to. As much as we would like to, no-one gets to stay on the mountain forever. All of us that meet with God in “Sacred Spaces” have to eventually return to the real world. Often, the real world is not a nice place to be. There is ...

Image Source:  Mandy von Stahl The ancient Greeks had a number of different words to describe love. Eros is erotic love. It is the type of love that many people will be experiencing today on Valentines Day... Storge is a deep sense of affection between human beings that develops naturally, like the love that a parent has for their children. Phylia describes the powerful emotional bond found in deep friendships. I would argue that all three of these types of love are dependant on how worthy the person is to be loved. If we love someone with the Eros , Storge and Phylia type of love, our love for them could always change when we believe that they are not worthy of that love anymore. But there is a fourth word used to describe love in the ancient Greek language: Agape . Agape  is the love that God has for all humankind. It is the love that Jesus commands from us when he tells us to "love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength" and "love your n...

This past week, my dad took our family on a 10-day tour of the UK with the intention of hunting down our family roots and discovering the origin of the Taylor name. It was an awesome trip and we got to experience some truly beautiful areas, making memories together that will last forever. We spent a lot of time in Scotland viewing some of the majestic castles and villages that the Taylor clan used to reside in, some of them are still in good condition while others are sitting in ruins. Throughout the trip, as we sat in the local pubs and the small living rooms of our Airbnb's, my dad shared the stories of the origin of the Taylor clan - wondrous stories about an abandoned, illegitimate child of the Cameron Clan who was raised by the local village tailor (hence the name), eventually becoming a fierce warrior known for his dark, relentless side when in battle. It is a blockbuster tale that would make a seriously good book! This trip reminded me of my other heritage, th...

Image Source:  Mindfuel "The Pharisees and teachers of the Law asked Jesus: 'Why do you eat and drink with tax-collectors and sinners?'" - Luke 5:30 Jesus spent his time on earth eating and drinking - a lot of his time. Throughout Luke's gospel, Jesus was either coming from a meal, at a meal, or going to a meal. It was often around a meal that Jesus' discipleship and evangelism took place. There is something special about sharing a meal together. I am reminded of this every time my wife and I get to visit our families in East London and every time we sit down to share a meal with friends. Whether celebrating a special event like Christmas, Easter, anniversaries, birthdays, or even just a quick catch-up session, God's grace is evident around a table of food and drink. Sharing a meal is more than merely eating food together. A shared meal represents friendship, community, hospitality and grace. Jesus was called a glutton and a drunkar...

I'm sure we have all come across the phrase of playing second fiddle . According to the dictionary, it means to "have a subordinate role to someone or something; be treated as less important than someone or something." Image Source: Larisa Birta I found the origin of this phrase fascinating. In an orchestra, the string players (particularly the 2nd violinists) are said to often feel insignificant to the other musicians. The main reason for this is because there are so many violinists and because their parts are often duplicated by other instruments. As a result of this, it is common for 2nd violinists to develop a laxness in both their practice schedules and their performances. On the other hand, 1st trumpeters and 1st oboists tend to be the most dedicated members in an orchestra because their contribution is considered very noticeable and important. Human beings were created to be intentional, purposeful beings. If a person cannot find a sense of purpose in...

One of my favourite movies of all time is  August Rush . (SPOILER ALERT!) The premise of the movie is as follows: A Boy is separated from his parents and orphaned from birth. The boy grows up with no access to music in a strict orphanage. However, the boy feels like there is some type of song deep within his soul that still connects him to his parents. He decides to "follow the music" inside of him. He runs away from the orphanage and can't help but express his song in whatever way he can. Eventually, his song is heard by others and becomes so popular that it is played in front of thousands of people. The boy's parents happen to hear the boy's song and are drawn towards him, eventually reuniting the whole family in the typical Hollywood happily ever after  ending. It is a powerful movie about music, love and never giving up. Maybe it is just the musician in me, but I believe that - just as the boy in the movie had a song inside of him that drew him to find ...