Words from a Branch

  Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him,   and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV             These wise words of counsel harkens back to the wisdom of Proverbs 1:7, and thus to the very foundation of wisdom itself. God is at the beginning of all wisdom, as He is at the center of all understanding. Failing to acknowledge God in all our ways is an act of willful ignorance, that will necessarily send our path in life here and there and everywhere as we try to find some way apart from the cardinal directions. We will subject ourselves to futility in reliance on our incomplete understanding. We shall move without going anywhere.             God’s understanding is alone perfect, and perfectly perfect, only He knows the way in its entirety. When He makes the path straigh...

Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. John 12:25 ESV                 This formulation is found in every gospel, Mark 8:35, Matthew 10:39, 16:25, Luke 9:24, 14:26, and 17:33. John 12:24 says, “Truly, Truly, I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a seed; but if it dies it bears much fruit. One life must end so that a greater life may begin. You cannot have your own life, and have the life of Christ abide in you. The call to follow Christ as these verses tell us is a call to die to self.   This is exactly as difficult as it sounds. The more we are invested in this life, the more difficult it is to lay this life down.                 We want to eat our cake and have it to. We want to keep our lives, and gain the eternal lif...

He imagines walking out the door and finding something entirely different on the other side. He imagines brick lanes devoid of the automotive monsters which plague him so, instead occupied only by foot traffic. He can almost hear the gentle noises of each step blending together into pattering easily pressed away into the background. He can nearly feel the humanity moving around him hurried by the rain and the cold of a winter’s evening. He can see the faint yellow light of the lamps pressing back fruitlessly against the gloom. From doors and windows comes the warm glow of life, the sound of which occasionally comes through as one door is opened. He dreams of turning into a particular inviting storefront, greeted by familiar faces and welcoming voices. He imagines the owner knows his name, that the waiter knows him well. He thinks of making small talk as he is shown to a cozy spot, greeting others along his way. He thinks of the waiter asking if he will have his usual, and of answer...