Harmony of Grace

Pink and Khalid sing a beautiful song that talks about how it hurts to be human. To struggle is to experience a core part of what it means to be human. Even before you were formed in your mother's womb, you had to struggle through countless obstacles, fending off 250 million other sperm to win the race and make it into this world.  Every day, I watch my 7-week old daughter struggle (with wailing and tears) as she tries to communicate her needs to us. In a few months, she will no doubt struggle to get acquainted with her limbs as she attempts (and fails many times) to crawl and walk. Some of life's struggles are necessary for efficient development. Some may seem pointless, or even unfair. Yet, we can take encouragement that human beings have proven to be able to endure great struggles. The bible is full of stories of great men and women who endured great struggles, both internal and external, for the cause of Christ. I think of Jesus' life and ministry on Earth. No other hum...

God's grace is evident in so many areas of our lives. However, some situations seem to be so utterly devastating that we cannot help but ask: where is God and why does God not intervene? The pain and evil evident in the many attacks against women in our country is overwhelmingly traumatic. South Africa is hurting. She is wounded in unison with her daughters who bleed on her streets. She is crying out for deliverance. Why can't our mothers rest assured that their daughters are safe, even at school? Why can't our sisters leave their houses without fear for their lives? Why do men feel entitled to women's sacred bodies? Now is not the time to be silent. Now is not the time to pretend that everything is fine. Now is not the time to presume that the situation is going to fix itself. Now is the time to mourn for our women. Now is the time to remember those who have been brutally murdered. Now is the time to listen and stand in solidarity with those who have s...

Image Source:  Martin Brosy Welp, it happened... In my last blog post,  an apple a day , I mentioned that I always seem to get sick after travelling home to East London from Pietermaritzburg. My wife, Mel, and I got to go home in December for a nice long Christmas holiday. For 2 weeks. I was as fit as a fiddle. But then it happened... I woke up one day in immense pain with my throat on fire and my sinus's all clogged up. In my previous post, I wrote about strengthening our spiritual immune system to prevent us from becoming spiritually sick. But what about those times when we realize that we are already sick? It is pointless to take multivitamins to prevent ourselves from getting sick because our immune systems have already taken a hit. We now have to try to cure our sickness. Often our first instincts are to treat the symptoms. Immediately after realizing I was sick, I decided to self-medicate, taking shots of Corenza C, Sinutab, pain-killers and the like. Bu...

Image Source:  Ben White In the midst of some truly joyful experiences this year, Mel and I have had to also endure through a number of tough challenges. Without going into too much detail, we have been faced with family feuds (not the fun game-show type); financial strain; academic struggles; burnout and far more car trouble than anyone would like to deal with. Life has certainly thrown us its fair share of the proverbial  lemons. But all of this this got me thinking... Are we still able to see God's grace in our lives when things aren't going as planned? It's easy to speak about God's goodness when the road is smooth. But when we encounter bumpy patches, we are quick to forget. "God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good!" This age-old saying that we often recite in our churches is beautiful and true. But do we really believe the words that we are saying? Do we truly believe that God is good all the time? Or only when things ar...