As a flower comes forth and fades away, time has taught me that this life is short of days and full of trouble (Job 14:1), and trouble comes not without heartache. Within the last couple of years, my heart has ached more than ever. I have preached the funerals and stood by the gravesides of individuals I once viewed as permanent fixtures that would never disappear. Time has taught me differently, and my longing for Heaven grows daily. This is common ground that we share with all of God’s creation. I remember the words of Paul, to the brethren in Thessalonica, in 1 Thessalonians 4:13, “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.” At the core of his admonition, Paul encouraged the brethren to grieve with hope still in their hearts, contrasting with those without hope. Grief is one of the most powerful emotions humans can experience. Grief holds the power to sway our souls and redefine our purpose. For some, grief leads to a renewed sense of purpose; for others, it leaves more questions than answers. In John 11, we find a helpful reminder of how Christians should move through grief. While the five stages of grief do not describe most people’s emotions adequately during immense loss and were never meant to apply to the bereaved, these five stages can describe the emotions of those who knew and loved a friend of …

You would have to know my parents to appreciate this article. When I was growing up, my parent’s yard was immaculate. My mother seemed to have a green thumb, and my father tended to every blade of grass. We had arbors, herb gardens, vegetable gardens, and many species of flowers. My father built a maze of decks in our backyard, lined our walkways with brick, and had many bird feeders that brought many bird species, including cardinals, hummingbirds, and bluejays, to our backyard. He trimmed his hedges like a work of art and cut his grass to perfection. Our back porch was like a living room serenaded with the sounds of a water fountain my mother loved. It was the epitome of a backyard paradise. My childhood memories center around going to home improvement stores and helping work in the yard. With my parents, you did not just work in the yard; you groomed the yard and flower beds. Our yard was pristine… except for one spot in the backyard. I had gathered excess dirt from projects around the house and constructed a real-life, beautiful, and immaculate pitcher’s mound. To me, it looked like the pitcher’s mound in Great American Ballpark, where all my heroes played. When I stepped on that mound, I was Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, or John Smoltz in game seven of the World Series. However, that was just a dream. I wasn’t facing the game’s greatest hitters, and no one was in the stands. In fact, …

In a world of people centered around self, we have been called as Christians to be people-centered around Christ. While the choice of selflessness is more difficult than the choice of selfishness, being selfless makes a difference to others, and being selfish makes no difference.