Harmony of Grace

Image Source:  Markus Spiske When I was younger, I was only aware of common colours: red, blue, green, yellow, etc. But as I grew up, I encountered a much larger variety of colours that I had no idea even existed: cyan, magenta, turquoise, azure, fuchsia, etc. It is only once we learn about these new colours that our appreciation for the full spectrum of colour really grows. I have noticed how most post-apocalyptic stories (that aim to portray life after everything has fallen apart) are full of bland colours... The landscape is a dusty brown, the clothes are washed-out greys and the lighting is dull. In contrast, stories that describe paradise are often filled with lush green fields, clear blue oceans, yellow sandy beaches and bright sunny days. All we have to do to observe this phenomenon is to look at the impact of a rainbow. Often during rainy, overcast days, the mood of those around us matches the dreary colours of the day. But when the skies clear and the multicolou...

Image Source:  Phil Coffman As a sports fan, it is natural to think that the team you support has the best players and the best strategies. Luckily, as a Liverpool fan, I have the stats to back up this claim. Jokes aside, it is easy to surround ourselves with people who share our beliefs. This reinforces our beliefs and closes ourselves off to new points of view. Someone once accused me of constantly looking at the world through red-tinted glasses as a Liverpool fan. This means that no matter what new information I was presented with from supporters of other clubs, I would still hold the same beliefs as before because I interpreted the new information through my red-tinted glasses . How often do we see the world through our Christian-tinted glasses  or our Methodist/Four12/Baptist/Shofar/insert-your-denomination-here  tinted glasses? We tend to only read books and articles written by people who share our theological beliefs, we only follow people on social me...

This year in South Africa we celebrated the 100th birthday of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. Although he is unfortunately not with us today, he left a strong legacy that will last for many generations to come. A legacy that perpetuates the values of peace, reconciliation, inclusion, passion and freedom. The Mandela Marathon is an annual event that was inaugurated in 2012 to honour the life and times of arguably one of South Africa's greatest ever icons. The theme of this year's Mandela Marathon was Keep Running the Legacy . As I participated in the event on Sunday, I was inspired to experience many aspects of this legacy in action throughout the duration of the day.  The route of the race is challenging and there were some tough sections where I was tempted to begin walking, but my fellow comrades encouraged me to push through the pain and keep on going, symbolizing the fighting spirit that Mandela epitomized with his life. The amount of support from the many wa...

Image Source:  Connor Dugan One of my favourite fantasy stories of all time is called The Wheel of Time  by Robert Jordan. I have recently been re-reading the series and came across a quote by an army general which really inspired me: "The best of plans last only until the first arrow hits , but a determined, unyielding commander can bring order to chaos by the way he holds himself." - Rodel Ituralde (The Towers of Midnight) Most leaders would agree that planning ahead is important. It is quite common, and natural, to put plans in place to try and ensure the best possible outcome in certain situations.  The problem is that no matter how well we formulate our plans and think through all the possible scenarios we might encounter, something could always go wrong that could render our plans completely useless. One of the distinctions between a strong leader and a weak leader is how they deal with change, particularly when it affects their original ...

It is that time of the year in South Africa where our social media feeds are flooded with graduation posts; from relatives, friends, old class-mates from school, and people we've never met whose photos were shared by mutual friends. Last week, I was lucky enough to attend my sister's graduation ceremony at UKZN as she received her Masters in Hydrology. A truly amazing achievement! It was the first graduation ceremony I have ever attended and I was struck by the overwhelming sense of shared pride and joy in the auditorium. Even though every person was there for a particular person's achievement, there was a communal sense of accomplishment and appreciation for what each and every student had individually achieved. "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn." - Romans 12:15 (NIV) But this is not always the case. How often do we do exactly the opposite of what this verse is saying? Perhaps it is jealousy or possibly our competitive...

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...

Image Source: Business Insider The age old debate: Should toilet paper be placed so that it is pulled from over the top or from under the bottom? It's amazing how heated the debate of this seemingly insignificant topic can get. This made me consider how many of these "toilet paper" issues do we let consume us when it comes to our faith? What is the best way to worship? Hymns or contemporary? When is the best time to have church? Saturdays or Sundays? Mornings or Evenings? Should Christians be reading fictitious books with debatable theology? What is the right way to baptize someone? Full immersion or sprinkling? What is the right way to serve/receive Holy Communion? How often do we see issues such as these dividing religions, denominations or even local churches? I believe that there are primary issues and secondary issues in our Christian faith. Primary issues are core to the universal church and deserve to be debated. Secondary issues are beliefs that we personally ...

Image Source:  Community Immunity Peter Storey, a former bishop of the Methodist Church in Southern Africa, makes the bold claim that Christians who can't worship together, can't be together. This realization raises a number of important questions: If our churches want to be a true unified community of believers, can achieve that if there are certain groups of people who do not feel comfortable worshiping with us? If old and young people can't feel comfortable worshiping together, can they do church together? What about black and white people? Hetero and homosexuals? Foreigners and locals? Women and men? Sometimes our churches can be exclusive when we gather for worship. We are often set in our ways and so comfortable with our own methods of doing corporate worship that if people don't relate to what we are offering, we are happy to send them away to find a new church somewhere else that might cater to their needs better than we do. To me, this just seems...