“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.” (Matthew 5:21-26)

This passage is part of the reas...

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-20)

Jesus’s audience would have been flabbergasted by these words in the Sermon on the Mount. My righteousness must surpass the Pharisees—the most “righteous” people I know? That’s impossible! they would have thought.

And that is precisely Jesus’s point. 

Jesus’s interpretat...

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13-16)

Last week, we saw Jesus’s description of the “blessed” citizens of the kingdom of God. In the next section of the Sermon on the Mount, he outlines the mission of those citizens.

Contrary to what some modern readers might expect, Jesus does not say, “Now that you’re citizens of my kingdom, it is time to quit your job and become a ‘full-time missionary.’” Instead, he calls his people to be salt and light, engaging the rot and darkness of the world.

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Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. He said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:1-12)

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[Jesus said,] remain in my love...I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. (John 15:9, 11)

The search for joy was the dominant theme of C.S. Lewis’s life. And he sought it apart from Christ in all the usual (and some unusual) places: alcohol abuse, an alleged affair with his dead best friend’s mom, and perhaps most relatably his career.

In 1925, after years of professional disappointments, Lewis landed his dream job as Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Magdalen College in Oxford. In an induction ceremony that had all the pomp and circumstance a 467-year-old college can muster, Lewis knelt before the president of Magdalen College, who dramatically met his gaze and declared, “I wish you joy.” Lewis then rose and proceeded around the room, stopping in front of each new colleague who echoed the refrain: “I wish you joy,” “I wish you joy,” “I wish you joy.”

I guarantee you that in that moment, C.S. Lewis believed he had finally found jo...

Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. (Matthew 13:34)

Jesus revealed God’s kingdom primarily through culture rather than politics. He never sought a seat on the Sanhedrin or in the Roman Senate. Instead, he changed the world with parables—tiny tales that stirred hearts to long for God’s kingdom.

Yet despite Jesus’s example, many Christians put far more faith in political solutions than cultural ones to fix the world’s problems today. We believe electing the “right people” and appointing the “right judges” will finally bring God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

This mindset explains why William Wilberforce, a member of the British Parliament in the 18th century, gets the lion’s share of the credit for abolishing the slave trade—even though historians and Wilberforce himself gave equal credit to Hannah More, a poet, playwright, and novelist who outsold her contemporary Jane Austen ten-to-one. 

Eric Metaxa...

Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm, to water a land where no one lives, an uninhabited desert (Job 38:25-26)

Most people didn’t view the Great Depression as the best time to launch a toy company. But that’s exactly when LEGO, the most successful toy brand of all time, was born.

The company’s founder, a devout Christian aptly named Ole Kirk Christiansen, had spent years building a traditional carpentry business. But by the early 1930s, business was slumping while his debts were soaring. So he pivoted to making toys like yo-yos, toy cars, and eventually LEGO bricks.

And everyone told him he was out of his mind.

“I think you’re much too good for that, Christiansen,” one friend said. “Why don’t you find something more useful to do!” The world was in crisis after all. People needed food, not toys. 

But Christiansen disagreed. In his own playful life and the life of the business he created to help others play well, Christiansen demonstrated a de...

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. (Luke 6:27)

Fannie Lou Hamer had just given birth, but the only cry in the room was her own. Twice now, she had watched her body grow along with her hope, only for her labor pains to usher in death rather than life. And then there were the miscarriages—losses that came so early she never even felt the joy of kicks in her womb.

Those losses—coupled with her extreme poverty and slave-like work as a sharecropper in Mississippi in the early 1900s—ensured that Hamer moved through her days in a fog. Until a doctor gave her hope: With surgery, the doctor assured her, all of her infertility problems could go away. 

Hamer eagerly signed off on the procedure. But after the surgery, Hamer discovered the unthinkable: The doctor had removed her uterus in a complete hysterectomy done without her knowledge or consent. Hamer’s dreams of having her own children were now utterly and truly dead.

Believe it or not, this was arguably not the most tragic...

But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. (Luke 5:16)

Today we’re kicking off a new series where I’ll introduce you to five “mere Christians” who show us what it looks like practically to glorify God via seemingly “secular” work. 

First up? Fred Rogers.

At the height of his fame, Rogers received a letter from Kathy Usher about her daughter, Beth, who had a rare brain disease that caused hundreds of seizures a day. The only thing that made them stop? Watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.

Before a critical surgery, Kathy wrote to Rogers asking for a signed picture to comfort Beth. But Rogers did one better. He called Beth that night and for nearly an hour, Beth talked to Mr. Rogers about everything from her fear of dying to her longing for friends.

But just wait—this story gets crazier. 

During surgery, Beth slipped into a coma. And Rogers called every single day for two weeks to check on her. After one call, Rogers dialed Beth’s surgeon, Dr. Ben Carson, and asked if he...

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:6-8)

I’ve heard Philippians 4:6-7 and Philippians 4:8 preached separately many times. But I’ve never heard these passages preached together. That’s a mistake because there’s a clear connection between anxiety and the things we choose to think about.

That truth has become more apparent as we’ve seen smartphones, social media, and 24 hour news services combine to create a culture of non-stop doomscrolling this past decade.

As Jonathan Haidt says in The Anxious Generation, “the great irony of social media,” is that “...