There is a study often shared from the work of Robert Cleck that reveals something simple, yet searching. Participants were told a scar had been placed on their face. They looked in a mirror and saw it. A long mark, stretching from ear to mouth. Noticeable. Uncomfortable. Then, just before they met other people, the …
In Japan, wildlife observers noticed something unusual about a young macaque nicknamed Punch. After being mistreated by his mother and pushed aside by his clan, he often sat a few feet away while the others groomed each other in tight circles of belonging. Just beyond arm’s reach. Watching. Caretakers eventually gave him a small stuffed …
Continue reading Punch the Monkey and the Pain of Rejection: Finding Belonging in Christ
Hidden in the long lines of Psalm 119 is a short sentence that reshapes how we hear God’s Word: “Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage” (Psalm 119:54). The psalmist does not speak of obligation or endurance. He speaks of joy. God’s statutes, the very commands many resist, had become …
Continue reading Statutes into Song: How to Find Joy in Obedience
A Good Word 