This is a cognitive bias where a person reads a news article on a topic they know well, spots glaring errors or inaccuracies, and gets frustrated. However, they then turn the page and read articles on unfamiliar topics with complete trust, forgetting the unreliability they just witnessed.

Many of us are guilty of this.

So I want to give you some firsthand information about the Southern Baptist Convention.

We are the largest conservative, Bible-believing denomination in the United States. Some of the things being shared and discussed are simply saying, “Can you believe this group of Christians believes what Christians have believed for the last 2,000 years?”

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Many articles focus on the belief that the office of pastor is limited to qualified men, a position that for Baptists goes back to our founding in the early 1600s and, for the church as a whole, goes back to Scripture itself. We believe God has distinct roles for men and women in the home and the church.

What was voted on was an amendment intended to protect our convention from the liberal drift that has affected so many mainline denominations. Whether you agree with that amendment or not, it is important to understand what was actually being debated rather than the caricatures that are often presented.

Yet I would add that in the SBC we do not see what many critics describe as patriarchy keeping women out of ministry. In the SBC, we see women leading and serving all over the convention. We have thousands of female missionaries, professors, counselors, teachers, authors, and ministry leaders. Women are gifted by the Holy Spirit and commanded to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and serve the body of Christ.

What is not reported?

It is not reported that Southern Baptists currently support more than 3,500 missionaries serving around the world. In 2025 alone, IMB missionaries and their partners shared the Gospel with more than 2 million people, saw nearly 200,000 professions of faith, and helped plant more than 7,600 churches.

It is not reported that our North American Mission Board helped plant 684 new churches across North America.

It is not reported that our seminaries provide ministry education for men and women through accredited institutions at some of the most affordable costs available.

It is not reported that Southern Baptists are often among the first on the scene when disaster strikes.

It is not reported that Southern Baptists recorded more than 250,000 baptisms, the highest number in years.

It is not reported that we spoke loudly and clearly against the evils of racism. It is not reported that we affirmed both compassion for immigrants and the responsibility of nations to maintain secure borders. It is not reported that we spoke against antisemitism.

It is not reported that we are a convention of churches taking major strides in loving those with disabilities. This year our Executive Committee worked diligently to provide recommendations to our entities and churches on how to better love and serve one of the most underserved populations in our nation. I had the blessing of serving on this committee. A bold call was made in these recommendations to local churches, encouraging them to do the following:

Understand that 15–20 percent of the population has a disability, yet they remain underrepresented in our churches, making this a significant opportunity to reach families with the hope of the gospel.

• Identify key church leaders and families in the congregation impacted by disability to help address potential physical and social barriers that may be preventing special-needs families from attending church.

• With help from Southern Baptist entities and/or parachurch organizations, develop a plan for inclusion for children, teens, and adults with disabilities that includes evangelism, discipleship, fellowship, and service opportunities.

• Build trust within communities to reach families affected by disability by meeting practical needs and pointing them to Jesus, who meets their deepest need.

As a father of children with disabilities, I was greatly encouraged that these recommendations were received unanimously. We are a denomination committed to serving people in both truth and love.

There is so much more that can be said, both good and bad, about this convention of churches. We are not perfect and have not always reflected Christ well, but we are a group of churches committed to working together to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ in word and deed.

That is why I am reminded of the Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect. If the stories you see about the SBC bear little resemblance to the convention I attended, perhaps it is worth asking what else the headlines might be missing.

We love our neighbors. We preach Jesus. We believe the Bible. We are not perfect, but we serve a perfect Savior.

This is part 8 of a series on the SBC Disability Ministry Task Force report, which will be delivered at the SBC in less than 2 weeks. Be sure to check out my other articles to get a sense of why this report is so important.

A lot of churches think they don’t have a disability ministry, often imagining it only as big, formal programs at large churches. But that misses the main point. Disability ministry isn’t about size. It’s about noticing and including families who are already part of our churches but may feel left out. When we assume only bigger or better-equipped churches can do this work, we lose sight of what really matters.

Families affected by disability are already part of our communities, and there are more of them than most churches realize. The SBC Disability Ministry Task Force Report says about 15–20% of people live with some kind of disability, but these families are still underrepresented in many churches. Joni and Friends calls families affected by disability the largest unreached people group in the United States, and I agree. This gap is not just a challenge. It’s also a chance for churches to show more compassion, build deeper relationships, and better reflect the heart of Christ.

That opportunity is often already right in our pews. Most churches know people with disabilities in their congregations. What they may not realize is what those families are quietly dealing with. Many people go through life without ever sharing their struggles, not because the church did something wrong, but because they never felt safe enough to speak up.

I understand that silence personally. Our family lives with neurodiversity, and after our son’s diagnosis, it took us years to talk openly about it with our church family. It wasn’t because we lacked community, but because being vulnerable is hard and the risks felt high. As my church’s pastor, I worried about what people would think when they saw my son’s behavior. Only as we grew in Christ did we find the confidence to share what God was doing in our home and what he was teaching us through it. That kind of silence is a real barrier, and it’s more common than most churches realize.

One of the most encouraging recommendations in the task force report is for churches to intentionally identify leaders and families in their congregations who are already affected by disability. This matters because it changes where we start. Disability ministry doesn’t begin with creating a new program. It starts with paying attention, learning people’s names, and listening to families. It means recognizing that God has already placed these people in the care of the local church. Many churches are already doing more right than they realize.

The report talks about physical and social barriers, and churches often think first about buildings and equipment. Those things are important. But the barriers families face most often are relational and emotional, like fear of embarrassment, fear of judgment, worry that their child is a distraction, or concern about tiring out volunteers. If these fears aren’t addressed, they build up. Over time, families may quietly wonder if it would be easier not to come at all. This isn’t about rebellion. It’s about exhaustion and slowly losing hope. I’ve seen that small acts of grace can make a big difference. These might be a volunteer patiently sitting with a child, a pastor remembering a family’s story months later, a church member talking directly to a teenager, or a ministry leader adjusting expectations instead of showing frustration. These moments are about more than just making accommodations. They show dignity, patience, and belonging, and often they show the love of Christ more powerfully than anyone realizes.

The task force also encourages churches to make disability inclusion part of evangelism, discipleship, fellowship, and service for everyone—children, teenagers, and adults. This wording is important. No one who cares about this work wants to create separate spaces off to the side. The goal is for people with disabilities to be active participants in church life, not just recipients of a program. It’s about helping families see church as a place of grace, not judgment, and recognizing that every member has something valuable to offer.

Many churches hear about this and quickly feel overwhelmed, thinking they don’t have the expertise, staff, or budget to do it well. But most families aren’t asking churches to be perfect right away. They just want to know if the church is willing to love them enough to learn. Honestly, most churches are closer than they realize. Learning names matters. Listening to parents matters. Reducing shame matters. Patience and flexibility matter. And it’s important to remember that these families are not problems to solve. They are beloved members of the body of Christ, created for his purposes.

That’s why this conversation goes beyond just disability ministry as a category. The task force report sees a big opportunity to reach families with the hope of the Gospel. But before many churches can reach out, they may need to realize that many of these families are already there, sitting quietly in the pews on Sunday morning, hoping someone will notice.

When churches start to really see people, they begin to love them more intentionally. That’s where belonging starts.

For the last four years, nurses have helped care for our son in our home. My middle son is extremely medically complex and fragile, and at different points my wife and I have practically lived in hospitals for months at a time. In this season of life, we are still in and out of doctors’ offices almost weekly.

At one point, we were approved for 24-hour home nursing care, though staffing shortages often made even those hours difficult to fill. At first, the arrangement was unnerving. We had to welcome strangers into our home and trust them around our children. My son stays on a heart monitor at night, and there have been seasons where every alarm mattered. If his heart rate dropped too low while he slept, it could become catastrophic very quickly. We had to trust that the person sitting beside him was not only personally trustworthy, but medically competent.

And somewhere along the way, these nurses stopped feeling like medical staff and started feeling like family. The Lord has used them to care for our children, encourage our hearts, and carry burdens with us that would have been impossible to bear alone. I want to honor a few of the people who have become deeply special to our family.

Rileigh

Rileigh was more than a friend. She truly became like a sister to my wife and me. She loved my children, and my children loved her. She was an amazing nurse primarily because she was an amazing person and friend.

In many ways, it is because of her that Knox can walk. When Knox was learning to walk, he did not take his first steps toward Mom or Dad. Completely unprompted, he walked toward Rileigh in the middle of a Books-A-Million.

Ri also fought her own medical battles after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that ultimately took her life. She and Knox became “rare condition buddies,” and we would often send pictures back and forth from the hospital of both of them receiving infusions. She loved my family to the very end and I know because of her faith that she is in the presence of the Lord and we will see her again.

Braicee

Braicee has walked with our family through it all. Our kids adore her, and her kids get along so well with ours. She is an excellent nurse and an even better friend.

She worked hard to earn her RN while balancing work in both hospital and home health settings. Since our boys are still young, they do not always fully understand the dynamic of home nursing. Honestly, I think our youngest genuinely believed that nurses like Braicee actually lived in our house.

Braciee has since moved away, but she remains a dear friend, and we are so proud of her.

Myra

Myra is one of the newest additions to our extended family, but she was one of the easiest people to warm up to. My kids absolutely love and adore her. She constantly goes above and beyond to show them how much she cares.

She has become something like a bonus grandma to our boys. She works nights, and during the chaos and exhaustion that often comes with raising three energetic boys in a disability family, Erin and I will sometimes just repeat to each other, “It’s going to be okay. Myra will be here at 7 p.m.”

Tiffany

Tiffany has been with us throughout this entire journey. She has been a behind-the-scenes champion for our boys.

She works another full-time job and has children of her own, yet she still makes time to come help us, often late into the night, just to give us a little rest. Honestly, much of the very little sleep Erin and I get is because of women like Tiffany and Myra.

She is also an incredible friend who listens, cares, and walks alongside us through every season.

Sha

Sha is one of the best nurses we have ever worked with, not just in our home but anywhere. She is incredibly smart and works unbelievably hard, both in her job and in her studies. While working full time, she also graduated with her RN.

She loves my boys, and they absolutely love her. She is also the only person I know who can successfully wrangle all the beautiful curls on my son’s head.

Thank God for Nurses

Each one of these nurses, along with so many others, has blessed our family deeply. This does not even include the unnamed nurses who cried with us, prayed with us, and laughed with us throughout this journey of medical complexity and disability parenting.

These are the nurses who quietly broke “the rules” in compassionate ways so we could better love and care for our children. The nurses who climbed onto hospital beds to perform CPR and emergency interventions. The nurses who took bites to the arm and sweated alongside Erin and me while we had to hold Knox still for an IV. The nurses who fought and advocated in rooms we could never enter so our children could receive the absolute best care possible.

Nursing is a profession that I believe is close to the heart of God. Scripture repeatedly calls God’s people to protect the vulnerable, care for the suffering, and bear one another’s burdens. Nurses live out those realities every single day, often in exhausting and unseen ways.

Jesus said that caring for the sick is one of the clearest reflections of love for Him:

“I was sick and you visited me.” (Matthew 25:36, ESV)

Paul reminds believers to:

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2, ESV)

And Proverbs teaches us:

“Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.” (Proverbs 19:17, ESV)

To the nurses who have cared for our family and countless others: thank you. Thank you for the sleepless nights, the compassion, the advocacy, the patience, and the sacrifice.

So join me in thanking God for the nurses in your life and praying for them faithfully.

In an effort to encourage you to read the book, I want to share two quotes that have significantly shaped how I think about prayer.

1. Praying without Doubting

As a pastor and a parent, I have spent quite a bit of time in hospitals and at the bedsides of sick loved ones. In those moments, there is a subtle prosperity-gospel instinct that says unhelpful things about prayer.

Chapell speaks directly to those situations:

“Some people say that you are not praying with sufficient faith if you follow your petitions with, ‘Yet, Lord, not my will but your will be done.’ Others may claim you are hedging your bets or leaving yourself an escape hatch for explaining unanswered prayer. But do not let anyone make you feel guilty or ashamed for praying as Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane.” (pg. 52)

Jesus does say, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:23–24), but this is not the only thing Scripture teaches on prayer. Those words assume that we are praying in accordance with the will of God and that we are trusting what it means to pray in Jesus’ name.

So to say, “Yet Lord, not my will but your will be done,” is not an escape hatch for doubt. It is an expression of trust. It is trusting that Jesus knows our needs better than we do.

Prayer is not telling God what we need and what He has to do about it. Prayer is bringing our faith before our God and trusting Him to provide the good gift that we need.

2. Prayer is Creative

Prayer is done by the Spirit of God, stirring within us what we need to pray for and bringing those prayers before the Father through the work of Jesus to accomplish the will of God. From beginning to end, God is at work in the process.

Our God is a creating God. He created the universe that we see, and He is actively, through the work of the Son and the Spirit, recreating and renewing the world.

Chapell captures this with striking language:

“When we speak to God, his words in us create the world before us in which he is working. As God once created the living world by the word that he spoke (Ps. 33:9; John 1:1–3), he now re-creates the world in which we live by speaking his words through us (1 John 2:14; Rev. 19:13–16). We become co-creators of this new world order by virtue of the Word of God in us that by his Spirit is working all things together for our good (Rom. 8:28, 32).” (pg. 177)

That is strong language, but it is meant to be.

We are co-creating when we pray, not as creators alongside God in equality, but as those who are being brought into His work. God is the Creator, and we are His creatures, yet in His kindness He allows us to participate in what He is doing, shaping both our hearts and the world around us according to His will.

We are like the child of an artist who is allowed to join in the brush strokes, or the son in the workshop who is invited to hammer in the final nail. The work belongs to the Father, but the joy of participation is given to the child.

I hope you find these two truths helpful as you pray today.

You are trusting the One who holds the universe with every burden you lay at His feet, and you are being drawn into His work by your Father, the all-creating One.

You walk into a room filled with people you do not know. The lights above you flicker—bright, fluorescent—and you can hear the steady hum of the electricity keeping them on. The air conditioner kicks on and off in rhythmic intervals, but the room still feels warm.

You try to move across the room, but there is no space. People press past you, shoulders brushing against yours. Some glance at you—too long, too directly—and you feel exposed, as if every movement is being watched.

The volume of conversation rises and falls like waves, crashing over you. You catch pieces of words, fragments of meaning, but nothing stays long enough to make sense.

A trickle of sweat runs down your back.

Your shoes are new, and with every step you feel the contour of your foot pressing against unfamiliar edges. Your stomach growls. You just want to get across the room. You just want an exit.

And now you realize, you need to find the bathroom.

You reach for the hand of someone you recognize, but even their voice is swallowed by the noise. You only catch every other word, as if they are speaking your language—but just barely.

The signs around you blur. Your eyes struggle to focus. You cannot tell where to go or what to do.

You try to speak, but the words will not come.

You repeat yourself. Again. And again. And again.

But your mind cannot seem to connect thought to language.

What you have just experienced is not an exaggeration or a thought experiment—it is, in many ways, a small glimpse into how the world can feel for someone living with autism.

Autism Awareness

While many people have sought to express their thoughts and opinions on Autism Spectrum Disorder, I have found that very few people actually understand it.

Autism is a neurological condition that affects how the brain receives and processes stimuli.

While research is still needed, there is much we currently understand. Autism is widely associated with atypical brain connectivity, characterized by a mix of hypoconnectivity (long-range under-connectivity) and hyperconnectivity (local over-connectivity). Essentially, this means that the brain is wired differently from that of a neurotypical person.

Hyperconnectivity can lead to both strengths and challenges in attention or sensory processing. Hypoconnectivity can lead to difficulty integrating information, particularly in social settings. To put it in computer terms, an autistic brain often experiences something like network connectivity problems.

These differences exist along a spectrum and are currently diagnosed in three levels based on support needs:

• Level 1 – Low support needs

• Level 2 – Moderate support needs

• Level 3 – High support needs

Causes

We do not fully know the causes of autism. That is a statement of fact. Anyone who tells you otherwise is not fully informed.

Attempts to assign blame to vaccines, Tylenol, diet, or other medications ignore both the historical data and the complexity of the condition. Autism is not the result of a single cause.

Genetics and epigenetics are believed to play a significant role, but they are not entirely determinative. Autism appears to arise from a complex interaction of biological and environmental factors that researchers are still working to understand.

While research continues to advance, we must be cautious not to speak with certainty where there is still ongoing study. Confidence without clarity can mislead—and in a subject like autism, that can do real harm.

Personal Note

This spectrum is broad and wide.

As a child, I was diagnosed with ADHD and later with Asperger’s Syndrome. I was in the gifted program in school, generally earned good grades, and went on to graduate from both college and graduate school.

Very few people are aware of this about me, and until now, I have not written about it, honestly, out of fear of judgment and misunderstanding.

Asperger’s has since been reclassified, and those previously diagnosed with it are now considered to fall within Level 1 or Level 2 on the autism spectrum.

My oldest son is Level 3. His story is much more complex than mine. He is nonverbal and struggles deeply with communication and social interaction. We truly believe he is highly intelligent, but because of his communication challenges, it is incredibly difficult to access and understand what he knows and feels.

Risks and Concerns

Safety
Autistic individuals, especially those who are nonverbal, often face increased risks in everyday environments. They are more likely to wander into dangerous situations, more vulnerable to abuse, and, tragically, at higher risk of drowning. Many require constant, attentive supervision. This is not alarmism—it is reality.

Education
While many autistic individuals are highly intelligent, the traditional education system often fails to meet their needs. Parents frequently spend countless hours advocating for appropriate accommodations, yet even then, what is provided can fall short of both legal standards and ethical responsibility.

Isolation
Both autistic individuals and their caregivers often experience deep isolation. Outings can feel overwhelming or unsafe, and social environments can be unwelcoming. Over time, this leads to withdrawal—not out of disinterest, but out of necessity.

Ignorance
One of the most exhausting realities is the constant stream of unsolicited and often contradictory advice. Suggestions range from uninformed to outright harmful. This misunderstanding—of causes, treatments, and lived experience—only deepens isolation and frustration.

What Is a Christian to Do with Autism?

Love

Love is defined by Paul in 1 Corinthians 13. We are to be patient and kind. We are not to insist on our own way.

We are called to go out of our way to show every person—regardless of how their brain is structured—that they matter and are cared for. Love never ends. It is one of the gifts God has given to the church that does not cease. As individuals with disabilities both give and receive love, they participate in something eternal at the very heart of who God is.

Know Your Limitations

If you are reading this, you are most likely not an expert in autism. You are not a neurologist, a speech therapist, or a behavioral specialist. You may have read articles or watched videos, but you are not living in or professionally studying this reality.

This applies far beyond autism, but one of the most dangerous phrases in our modern landscape is, “I have done my own research.” As humans, our capacity for knowledge is limited. We cannot be experts in everything—and that is okay.

As a parent of a child with autism, I do not look to Facebook or TikTok for answers. I speak with my son’s doctors and therapists. I trust those whom God has gifted and called in their fields.

Avoid Eugenic Arguments

Eugenics is the attempt to improve the human population through selective breeding or by removing individuals with disabilities or differences.

As Christians, we reject this entirely. Every human being bears the image of God and has inherent dignity and worth.

We can acknowledge the real pain and difficulty that often accompany severe disabilities without seeking to eliminate those who bear them. Rather than pursuing eradication, we should pursue care, treatment, and faithful presence.

There is ongoing tension in the broader autism conversation—between those with lower support needs seeking recognition and those with higher support needs advocating for safety and care. Both realities matter.

As Christians, we are uniquely equipped to hold this tension. We can affirm that autism reflects both the goodness of God’s creative design and the brokenness of a fallen world. This allows us to pursue inclusion, compassion, and meaningful support—without ever devaluing the person.

The Church

The church should be the most accessible and welcoming place for individuals with autism and their families—but often, it is not.

Many families feel more isolated in church than anywhere else.

Churches may not be legally required to provide accommodations, but we should not need laws to compel love. We are a people who are meant to be known by our love.

The question is not, “What are we required to do?”
The question is, “What does love require of us?”

Conclusion

Autism isn’t something to talk about from a distance. It’s something people live with every day. These are people made in the image of God.

We’re not going to have all the answers. That’s just reality. But we are called to love.

To be patient. To make room. To show up. To walk with people who are tired and often feel alone.

At the end of the day, this isn’t just about autism. It’s about whether the church is actually going to love people the way Christ has called us to.

Imagine this.

Your 16-year-old gets his license that morning, and you come home that evening for a small family celebration. You hand him a tiny box. He unwraps it and, in jubilation, pulls out a set of keys on a keychain. He embraces you and shouts, “Thank you, thank you so much! I love you. I’ve always wanted a set of keys to play with.”

Confused, you slowly pull away from the embrace.

“Son, those go with the car outside.”

“That’s cool,” he says, disinterested, as he runs up to his room and hangs them on a hook. “I’ve always dreamed of having these keys here with me. Thanks again, Dad.”

At that point, you’d probably reconsider the car—and wonder whether your son has lost his sanity.

As ridiculous as this sounds, many of us have done something similar with the promises of God. We have longed for the keys—and even their place on a hook—when the real prize is the car.

The Scriptures tell us that we have eternal life even now, and that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:8). These truths are beautiful and absolutely true. But they are, in a sense, the space between receiving the keys at the party and actually driving the car.

The Bible is clear that our hope is not to remain disembodied forever, but to await something greater: the redemption of our bodies (cf. Romans 8:23), the return of Christ, and the resurrection of the dead (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17).

Paul makes this unmistakable in 1 Corinthians 15:1–58. The Christian hope is not merely life after death, but life after life after death—a resurrected body in a restored creation, secured by the risen Christ.

In that chapter, Paul uses the image of a seed becoming a plant. A wheat kernel begins small, buried in the ground, but it rises into something that feeds life and produces many more seeds. It is the same in kind, yet far more glorious in form.

So it will be with us. What is sown in weakness will be raised in power. What is sown perishable will be raised imperishable (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:42–44).

This world is broken. Our bodies are broken. Our minds are broken. Sin has touched everything—our hearts and our neighbors alike.

I have two sons with disabilities, and I long for the day when not only their souls are with Jesus, but their bodies are made whole. I long for the day when sin is no more—when I no longer battle pride, anger, or impatience.

We are not looking for an escape from a sinking world. We are looking forward to its restoration—to a glorification that takes what was good and brings it to its fullest, most radiant expression.

All the pain in my sons’ lives cannot compare to the eternal weight of glory that awaits us (cf. Romans 8:18; 2 Corinthians 4:17). Every stretch in the ICU will feel like a speck of dust on the scale. Every sleepless night, every 3 a.m. prayer-filled car ride, will feel like a drop of water drawn from the ocean.

We are not hunkering down, waiting for the end. Our hope compels us to live—and to live fully: to face suffering head-on, to face death as a defeated enemy, and to live for the glory set before us.

So let us take hold of this hope and believe it. And in believing, let us live it out.

Paul writes, “Why are we in danger every hour? … I die every day!” (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:30–31). We can die daily in faith and hope because of what lies ahead. We can endure sorrow, grief, and persecution because our future is secure. We can fight sin and temptation because a greater glory awaits us.

We have the keys.

So let us not hang them on a hook.

Let us look forward to the drive.

1. The Resurrection Gives Meaning to Our Sacrifice
   If Christ is not raised, suffering for the faith makes no sense—but because He is alive, every sacrifice for Him is worth it.

2. Our Hope in the Resurrection Calls Us to Bold Living
   Believers throughout history have risked everything because they know death is not the end—so we too can live courageously for Christ.

3. Wake Up and Live Like Jesus Is Alive
   Reject the lie that this life is all there is, turn from sin, and fully follow Christ with urgency, purpose, and eternal perspective.

   

Judah, happy birthday.

I hope you come back years from now and read this.

You changed my life forever. The moment I held you for the first time, I knew—deep down—why God had placed me on this earth. Through you, I began to understand the love of God in ways I never could have imagined.

These past seven years have been an adventure. And like any true adventure, there have been battles, dragons, pain, heartache, and unimaginable joy.

You have autism, but it does not define you. You are sweet, kind, hilarious, smart, stubborn, and so much more. You are made in the image of God, and He knew exactly who you would be. You can say with the psalmist, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13).

My prayers for you are many. I pray that one day we can sit and talk, and that I can hear with words all that you already say so clearly in other ways. I pray that the world grows more patient, more understanding, and more loving toward you and others like you. I pray that I would always be a faithful advocate for you—in the small moments and the big ones. And I pray that the Church would grow in its love, seeing and valuing people just like you.

I also pray that, even now, you would know that Christ loves you and cares for you deeply. And I pray that I would be a faithful voice—an example and a witness—speaking truth and love on your behalf.

I know others may not always understand you, but I want you to know that I do. I often feel like a translator between you and the world—and I am grateful for that role. You are my little buddy, and I see so much of myself in you. You bring me a kind of joy I can hardly put into words.

This life is not the one I once imagined. Many parents of seven-year-olds are heading to baseball practice, while you and I are on a different kind of adventure. I grieve what you miss. I grieve how the world sometimes sees you. But the joy we have in you is greater than anything I ever could have imagined.

I know the path we are walking is one our heavenly Father has led us down, and we get to walk it side by side. Whether you grow up, move away, and build a life of your own—or whether you stay with me for all my days—I will be joyful and grateful to have you as my son and my buddy.

Happy birthday, Judah.

I love you. -

Daddy

Non-Verbal Boys

I am so glad to be your dad today.
I look and see and long—what will you say?
Just noise, just joy—for now, that will be enough.
My heart’s in pain; it’s small, but still it’s rough.

I want to hear them sing and scream at me.
I want to talk and hear their fears and pleas—
respond, and give some hope, answers for them,
for them to know it will be good again.

Introduction

In the next few weeks, we have some major outreaches planned. We will host a community Easter Cookout on the Saturday before Easter, hold a Women’s Gathering a few weeks later, and conclude the month with our annual community outreach, Love Liberty County. Having these events on the calendar is exciting, and all the work already poured into them is important. Yet we know that without the work of the Holy Spirit and a move of God, all our efforts are in vain. I encourage our members to take up the challenge and pray fervently for God to move. For those who are not members, I humbly invite you to join us in prayer, asking God to work in Liberty County.

How to Use This Prayer Guide

Each devotion contains a scripture, a brief devotion, and a prayer to guide you. There are 20 days of devotions intended to be read Monday through Friday starting Monday March 30^th and then concluding on Friday April 24^th.

Events to Pray and Prepare For

April 4^th Eggstravaganza at LMBC Easter Cookout

April 5^th Easter Sunrise Service/Easter Morning Worship

April 11^th Woven Together

April 24^th Love Liberty County Student Dodgeball Tournament

April 25^th Love Liberty County Free Yard Sale

April 26^th Love Liberty County First Responder Appreciation Breakfast and Service

Day 1 – Holy Monday

Read: Mark 11:17

And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.”

On Monday, Jesus cursed the fig tree, cleansed the temple, and declared that the temple should be a house of prayer. He was fulfilling the role of a prophet, showing how far the people had fallen from God’s design. As believers today, it is easy to fall into religious traditions and miss the heart of what God desires for us. We are not called simply to know God, but to be a people devoted to prayer. In cleansing the temple, Jesus revealed God’s heart for all people to be reconciled to Him. By the end of the week, the veil would be torn—no longer would a relationship with God depend on human mediators, but through Christ, anyone can come to Him.

Pray

Lord, help us recover Jesus’ heart for prayer and people, and move in a powerful way during our Easter services and community outreach this weekend.

Day 2 – Holy Tuesday

Read: Matthew 22:37–39

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

On Tuesday, Jesus confronted the Pharisees and religious leaders in the temple. He taught that the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. He summarized the Law in this teaching. The law was not about making God happy with us but rather to express who God is by our actions. God desires us to show love in all that we do. Our love is the ultimate test of our obedience to God. If we lack love, we are not obeying God.

Pray

Lord, let our faith be alive and fruitful, and prepare hearts in our community to respond to the message of Christ during our Easter events.

Day 3 – Spy Wednesday

Read: Matthew 26:14-16

Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.

On Wednesday, Jesus was betrayed by Judas. Judas walked with Jesus for three years, witnessed miracles, and heard His teaching—but he did not understand or believe the gospel. Your closeness to Christianity or involvement in church does not guarantee that you grasp or embrace the truth. Judas missed the heart of God’s message. Jesus was patient, kind, and loving ultimately to Judas even though he knew exactly where the story was going to end. Let us love like Jesus even those who ultimately reject us. Let us not deceive ourselves like Judas and know that our love is the ultimate test of our faith.

Pray

Lord, help us walk faithfully with you, understanding and embracing your truth, and guide us as we share the gospel with those attending our Easter outreach.

Day 4 – Maundy Thursday

Read: Luke 22:42

saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”

On Thursday, Jesus gathered with His disciples for the Passover meal and instituted the Lord’s Supper. Later, He went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray before His arrest, knowing the full weight of what He faced. “Not my will, but Yours, be done.” In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul reminds us that love does not seek its own. Jesus perfectly embodied this, submitting His will to the Father and taking on the wrath of God for our sake.

Pray

Lord, help us follow Jesus’ example, laying down our own will to serve others in love, especially as we prepare to serve in our upcoming outreach events.

Day 5 – Good Friday

Read: Matthew 27:50–51

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.

Jesus went to the cross willingly and bore the full weight of human sin and suffering. When He breathed His last, the veil separating humanity from God was torn from top to bottom. We now have direct access to God through Christ’s death. Not only is the veil removed, but the dividing wall between us and others is broken. Through Christ, all can be redeemed and brought near to God.

Pray

Lord, let the message of the cross resonate in hearts this weekend, and prepare our Easter Cookout and services to be times of salvation and encounter with you.

Bonus – Holy Saturday

Read: Luke 23:53–54

Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid. It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning.

Jesus was laid in a borrowed tomb. His body rested while His spirit went to paradise. He accomplished the greatest work of all—the redemption of creation. In Genesis, God rested on the seventh day; Jesus, on the seventh day of Holy Week, rested in the tomb, fulfilling the Sabbath for us and completing the work required for our salvation.

Pray

Lord, help us rest in Christ’s finished work, and empower our hearts to love and serve those attending our Easter outreach.

Day 6- April 6^th

Read: 1 Corinthians 13:4a

Love is patient

Love is the greatest gift given to us, and in 1 Corinthians 13 we find the description of what love looks like. The greatest example of love is that of Jesus Christ. To love is to be patient. Christ, in everything that He did, was a perfect example of patience. He was not short-tempered; He was instead long-suffering. His divine nature and holiness made being in the presence of sin torturous. Yet in all the accounts of His life and ministry, He responded to the fallen world around Him with patience and love. He healed, revealed Himself, He fellowshipped, and He showed love.

Pray

Lord, give us patience in ministry and outreach, and help our Easter services bear fruit for your kingdom.

Day 7- April 7th

Read: 1 Corinthians 13:4b

Love is patient and kind

While the idea of kindness in our day and age seems trite and childish, it is only seen so because we have belittled the great truth of the kindness of God and Jesus toward us. He is kind to us in the common grace that everyone receives. Every moment that we draw breath is a gift given out of kindness and love. He was ultimately kind to us in the great grace received at the cross. The gift of our salvation, that we are reconciled with God and have been adopted into the family of the king. It was a joy for Him to meet our needs in love. He sought not just to do so with indifference, but with joy and affection that draws us closer to Him.

Pray

Lord, let your kindness flow through us as we serve in our Love Liberty County Dodgeball tournament, helping students experience your love.

Day 8- April 8th

Read: 1 Corinthians 13:4c–5a

it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;

Jesus as he walked this earth was never arrogant or rude. He spoke the truth in love. He was kind and compassionate. When others stopped or interrupted his ministry, he was never mean spirited but responded with grace in the moment. God’s love works in humility and grace, seeking the good of others above self. As we prepare to serve at our upcoming Free Yard Sale, we must remember that love seeks the well-being of all people who come, regardless of background or need.

Pray

Lord, remove pride and selfishness from our hearts, teach us humility, and guide us to serve everyone who comes to our yard sale with genuine love.

Day 9- April 9th

Read: 1 Corinthians 13:6

it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

If we are to love our neighbor, we cannot do so by celebrating falsehood. We must acknowledge the truth of where they stand with God. We must acknowledge that it is only through Christ that they can be saved. We must not rejoice in false gospels that do not bring men and women to Christ. Love means speaking the truth in love. It means being willing to give that person the good news that Jesus made a way for them to be forgiven of their sins. Jesus did not affirm the woman at the well and say that everything was okay; He did not ignore the rich young ruler’s love of money, and He did not ignore the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, but instead spoke the truth in love, no matter the cost.

Pray

Lord, give us boldness to speak the truth in love and faithfulness to proclaim the gospel to everyone we encounter at our Free Yard Sale and beyond.

Day 10- April 10^th

Read: 1 Corinthians 13:7

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love carries burdens and endures on behalf of its object. Jesus said, “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” As believers living in a fallen world among fallen people, we are called to love by bearing their burdens, by believing that God is not finished with them, by hoping in the promises of God for His people, and by enduring suffering to see God’s promises brought to fruition.

Pray

Lord, strengthen us to bear burdens, remain hopeful, and endure in love for others, especially as we plan and execute our Appreciation Service for first responders.

Day 11 – April 13^th

Read: 1 Corinthians 13:8

Love never ends.

When we show someone genuine love, we are etching a reality into eternity. True love is not something that fades or tarnishes, but an act of genuine love will have eternal ramifications. Jesus said in Matthew 24 that even the smallest act done in His name matters eternally. An act of simple love, connected to the truth of the gospel and done in the name of Jesus, is an eternal act. It will bear fruit and rewards for all of eternity, and on this side of heaven it enables us to see God more clearly and more beautifully.

Pray

Lord, help us to love in ways that have eternal impact and reflect your heart, and guide our efforts to genuinely love and serve those attending our student events.

Day 12- April 14^th

Read: 1 Corinthians 13:8b–10

As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.

When Christ returns, all the business of the church will pass away, but the worship of God and the love of the saints will endure forever. As John Piper writes, “Missions exist because worship doesn’t.” The work of the church will one day pass away, but the worship, adoration, and love of God will extend into infinite glory. We must share this love with our fellow believers and our neighbors, because our God is worthy of the love and affection of every human who has ever been created.

Pray

Lord, use us to spread your love in all our outreach efforts so that more people may worship you forever.

Day 13- April 15^th

Read: 1 Corinthians 13:11

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.

The full maturity of a Christian is found not in their spiritual gifts, but in their capacity to love God, love their brothers and sisters in Christ, and love their lost neighbor. Putting away childish things does not mean we are to put away joy, but that we are to pursue true biblical maturity and live as God has called us. He created us to love Him and to love those made in His image.

Pray

Father, grow us into maturity marked by genuine love, and help us demonstrate that love in every outreach event.

Day 14- April 16^th

Read: 1 Corinthians 13:12

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

We now see in a mirror dimly. Like looking into a fogged mirror, we can make out the image but not the full clarity. In this fallen world, our vision is limited, but the closer we draw to God, the more clearly, we begin to see. The love of God is found in that we are fully known and fully loved by Him. One day, we will see Him clearly and know Him fully. We not only see God through a mirror dimly, but also our fellow man. As C.S. Lewis puts it there are “no ordinary people… but immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit.” We shall one day see each other for who we truly are. We shall be truly known and be safe in the arms of our redeemer and perfecter.

Pray

Lord, help us trust you now and long for the day we will see You clearly, and guide us to serve with clarity and purpose in all of our upcoming outreaches.

Day 15- April 17^th

Read: 1 Corinthians 13:13

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

This sentiment goes far beyond the coffee cup verse that it appears to be. Faith is eternal. Hope is eternal. Love is eternal. Faith secures us for all of eternity to the greatest reality. Faith leads us deeper and deeper into a relationship with God. Hope believes that God has something better and better for us each day. Yet love is the greatest of these. Love is the affection of God directed to us and directed through us and etches deeper and deeper glory into the reality of the world.

Pray

God, make love the defining mark of our lives as we follow you, and empower our community outreach to be a true reflection of your love.

Day 16- April 20^th

Read: 1 John 3:16–17

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?

The ultimate example of love is found in remembering that Christ laid down His life for us. This means that we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters in Christ. If we have been given the Holy Spirit and are united with the Creator of the universe, if we have felt the joy of knowing that Jesus loved us in His sacrifice, if the Father willingly sent His Son to save us, why would we not be willing to sacrifice our small trifles to see our brothers and sisters thrive? Why would we not bring the good news to our lost neighbors?

Pray

Lord, move us to live sacrificially and to love others with the same love you have shown us, especially as we engage in Love Liberty County this month.

Day 17- April 21^st

Read: 1 John 4:7–8

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

God is love. The fullness and fountain of the greatest reality in this world flows from Him into our hearts as believers in Jesus. If we profess that Christ has redeemed us and that we now have a relationship with this God of all the universe, how could we not have a new love in our hearts? Love is the fulfillment of the law. Love is the full reflection of who God is, and we were created in His image to reflect this love to all of creation.

Pray

Father, let your love fill our hearts and overflow into the lives of those around us, especially in our student dodgeball tournament, that every student experiences genuine love and care.

Day 18- April 22^nd

Read: 1 John 4:10

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Jesus was the propitiation for our sins. That is a large theological word that means He took the wrath of God that we deserved. We deserved to be separated from God for all of eternity. Yet in the greatest act of love, He gave His life and took our place on the cross. If this is what love is and what love has done for us, how can we fail to love our neighbor in our much smaller sacrifices? How can we neglect to love and worship Him with our time, our resources, and our lives?

Pray

Lord, deepen our understanding of your love and lead us to respond with wholehearted devotion, helping us serve with joy and patience at our Free Yard Sale.

Day 19-April 23^rd

Read: 1 John 4:11

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

This is simple and clear: if we have been loved, we ought to love. We are called to take the gift we have received and pass it on to others. God blesses us to be a blessing, and in doing so, we experience even greater joy. Love is not complete until it is shared. The love of God came to us so that it might flow through us to others.

Pray

God, help us to freely give the love we have received, blessing our first responders and community as we honor them in our Appreciation Service.

Day 20- April 24^th

Read: 1 John 4:12

No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

We have seen the image of God in the person of Jesus, but we have not yet fully seen Him in all His glory. When we love, we do more than see Him—we experience His abiding presence in us. His love is being perfected in us, transforming us from the inside out. It began at the cross, came to us through faith, and now finds its expression as we love one another.

Pray

Lord, let your love be perfected in us as we live it out toward others, that every outreach, event, and ministry effort would be fruitful and glorifying to you.

Metamodernism names this cultural moment. It represents an evolution from the predominant cultural viewpoint of the last half-century. Postmodernism emphasized deconstruction across media, language, art, and literature—questioning grand narratives and destabilizing traditional frameworks.

Metamodernism, as described by cultural theorists, reflects an oscillation between two poles: meaning and sincerity on one hand, and meaninglessness and absurdity on the other. It emerges as a reaction to the postmodern world we have inhabited for more than fifty years. The deconstructive efforts of postmodernism left culture without a stable narrative by which to interpret reality, and this instability is reflected in the art of the period.

Postmodernism, with its radical deconstruction, was, in many ways, shaped by a broader scientific and materialistic worldview. Within that framework, morality, beauty, truth, and logic are reduced to products of evolution and chance—stripped of inherent meaning. Those who embrace such a worldview are often left with two options: existentialism or nihilism. Either meaning does not exist at all, or it does not exist inherently and must be constructed.

The metamodern turn is often described as a pendulum swinging between these extremes. It reflects the inescapable human longing for truth, beauty, and morality—a longing we cannot silence. Yet the image of a pendulum, while helpful, is incomplete.

The Apostle Paul describes this kind of instability in Ephesians:

“So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” — Ephesians 4:14 (ESV)

Whereas scholars describe metamodernism as a pendulum, it may be better understood as a bungee cord. Because we are made in the image of God, we possess an inescapable awareness that truth, beauty, and morality are real—and we live as though they are. Yet, under the weight of modern assumptions, humanity is driven to leap into a lower story stripped of meaning. What follows is a free fall into emptiness and despair

.

But this position cannot be sustained. The absurdity of a meaningless world presses in, and man is violently pulled back upward—reaching again for meaning, purpose, and beauty. Yet this return lands him only in a fragile upper story, one that cannot bear the weight of the longings it tries to support.

This dynamic is increasingly evident in contemporary media and in the style of humor embraced by the current generation. The humor is often self-aware, ironic, and deeply sincere all at once—laughing at meaning while simultaneously longing for it.

In Bo Burnham: Inside, Bo Burnham embodies this tension. Throughout the special, he oscillates between satire and confession, irony and vulnerability. Songs like “That Funny Feeling” capture a quiet despair at the state of the world, while still reaching for something real beneath the absurdity. The performance itself becomes a kind of bungee cord—falling into meaninglessness while straining toward meaning.

Similarly, the music of Taylor Swift—particularly in Folklore and Evermore—reflects a renewed sincerity layered with self-awareness. There is a return to storytelling, emotion, and beauty, yet always with an awareness of fragility and loss. These songs long for meaning without confidently grounding it.

In Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig, this same tension is explored through satire and sincerity. The film begins with a playful, ironic critique of identity and cultural expectations, yet gradually shifts into an earnest exploration of purpose, identity, and what it means to be human. It laughs at meaning even as it searches for it, ultimately landing in a space that longs for truth but cannot fully ground it.

Films such as Everything Everywhere All at Once put this tension on full display as well. The film presents an existential vision of absurdist hope, acknowledging that within a purely secular framework there is no ultimate foundation for meaning or sincerity, yet still urging the viewer to choose hope in the face of absurdity.

The Bible, however, offers a fundamentally different vision of reality—one that provides a true grounding for truth, beauty, morality, and logic.

These realities exist because there is an eternal, triune God who has revealed Himself in both His Word and His world. As Francis Schaeffer wrote, “He is there, and He is not silent.”

In his trilogy—The God Who Is There, Escape from Reason, and He Is There and He Is Not Silent—Schaeffer describes reality using the analogy of a two-story house.

The upper story is the realm of meaning, values, purpose, morality, beauty, and ultimate truth.
The lower story is the realm of facts, nature, science, and empirical observation—what can be measured and tested.

Schaeffer traces the development of this divide back to Thomas Aquinas, who distinguished between nature and grace. While not intending to divide truth, this distinction was later expanded through rationalism into a separation between nature and freedom.

The problem with this division is that, over time, the lower story begins to consume the upper story. When meaning is detached from truth, it cannot sustain itself. As history progresses, the divide becomes one between rationality and faith. Rationality, confined to the lower story, leads to pessimism, while optimism is pushed into the upper story as something non-rational—a leap without grounding.

As the lower story continues to erode every foundation for meaning, various substitutes emerge. Existentialism attempts to create meaning. Later, forms of mysticism—including drug-induced experiences—seek to recover a sense of transcendence. Yet each of these proves insufficient, unable to provide a stable grounding for truth, beauty, or morality.

Now, in the wake of postmodernism, we can better understand our cultural moment. We are not merely swinging between extremes—we are falling and recoiling. We leap into meaninglessness, only to be pulled back by a longing we cannot escape. We reach for meaning, only to find that what we grasp cannot hold us. Metamodernism is more akin to bungee jumping. Free fall then recoil.

Sharing the gospel in this context requires clarity that cuts through both the fall and the recoil. The answer for this cultural moment is not something new, but a solid ground for those who have been tossed to and fro by the waves of an indecisive age.

At the lowest point of the fall lies nihilism—the recognition that a worldview separated from God ultimately collapses into meaninglessness, truthlessness, and the loss of beauty. Yet even here, people cannot live consistently with that conclusion. They continue to long for meaning, revealing that they were not made for such a world.

In the recoil, we see the rise of existentialism—the attempt to construct meaning, assert value, and recover purpose. Yet this effort cannot hold, because it lacks the grounding of objective truth.

This creates a powerful point of connection. Even in their fall and recoil, people reveal that they know something is real. They are reaching for a truth they cannot escape and cannot construct.

This gives us a clear opportunity. When people laugh at meaning, they are not rejecting it—they are revealing how deeply they long for it. When they reach for purpose, they are reaching for something real. The task of the church is not to invent meaning, but to point to the One who grounds it.

The gospel provides what neither the fall nor the recoil can offer: a true and lasting union between truth and meaning. In the biblical worldview, truth is meaningful, and meaning is true—because both are grounded in the character of God and revealed supremely in His Word.

• Pursue love first — before gifts, before preferences, before anything else.

• Use your words to build up others — not to impress, but to encourage and strengthen.

• Clarity matters in worship — everything we do should help people understand and respond to God.

Important Truths to Remember

We Are Accountable to God for Our Children’s Education

As parents, we are ultimately accountable for our children’s education.

• Scriptural References:

  • Deuteronomy 6:6–7 – “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children...”

  • Proverbs 22:6 – “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

  • Ephesians 6:4 – “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

We will give an account before God for the choices we make, whether actively or passively.

We Are Free in Christ

This is an important reminder for everyone reading this. We are free in Christ regarding the details of our children’s education. Biblically, there are no commands specifically forbidding state, private, or home-based education.

This does not mean there is no best answer, nor does it mean there isn’t a wrong answer for a particular situation. What it does mean is that this is an issue referred to as adiaphora—a matter of Christian freedom. As believers, God gives us the freedom to choose what best fits our situation, and we are not called to condemn others for their specific choice.

However, just because something is permissible does not mean all things are beneficial. (1 Corinthians 10:23 – “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.”)

All the Treasures of Knowledge Are Hidden in Christ

Here is a foundational truth—not only for your child’s education but for your own personal pursuit of knowledge. All knowledge is revealed by God. Scripture is clear that God communicates with us in two primary ways:

• Special revelation – through the Word of God.

• General revelation – through creation, a gift of common grace available to all.

God is the author of all scientific knowledge, logic, mathematics, philosophy, literature, and language. All of it belongs to Him and ultimately finds its roots in Christ.

This means that any education not grounded in the truth of God’s creation and sovereign rule over the universe will inevitably descend into scientific materialism. Without the revelation of Scripture, we lose all grounding for knowledge, morality, and meaning in this life.

The Fear of the Lord Is the Beginning of Knowledge

Proverbs 1:7 articulates this truth: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

A reverent relationship with God is the foundation for all true knowledge and wisdom. We cannot truly understand the facts of the universe—or the ethical application of what we learn—without grounding in our relationship with our Heavenly Father through Christ.

Helpful Questions to Ask

What Is the Ultimate Goal of Your Child’s Education?

Is the goal graduation? College acceptance? Or to raise moral citizens? As Christians, our highest aim for our children should be that they are brought up in the nourishment and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).

Are We Creating Men and Women Without Chest?

C.S. Lewis argued over 80 years ago that education systems without grounding in morality, beauty, and truth produce what he called “men without chest”—people unable to form a well-rounded worldview. Unfortunately, this trend has only continued. A society of “men without chest” produces technocrats, bureaucrats, or intellectuals who may achieve great material or scientific feats but lack moral wisdom—which can lead to corruption, cruelty, and cultural decay.

What Is the Philosophy and Theology Behind Your Child’s Education?

• Are you redeeming the time? (Ephesians 5:15–16)
  Parents have only so many days with their children before they are sent into the world. Are you using that time to glorify God in their lives?

• What is the worldview embedded in the education your children are receiving?

A Multitude of Concerns

Many parents wrestle with legitimate concerns when considering which educational model to pursue for their children. Time, finances, educational quality, health, and special needs can all present real barriers in making a choice. These worries are understandable—especially for children with disabilities, like my own. It is important to remember, however, that children in public schools can still grow up to be Godly, Christ-centered individuals. The key is how we use the time we do have with them: helping them build a foundation of theological knowledge and forming a biblical worldview that will guide them no matter where they learn. Resources and assistance are available to help parents navigate these challenges, so you are not alone in this journey.

Why People Are Leaving

In recent years, more families are choosing alternatives to public schools for a variety of reasons. Safety concerns and the fear that children are falling behind academically weigh heavily on parents. Some families realized during COVID-19, when children were learning from home, that they were capable of taking a more hands-on role in their education. Additionally, state education grants and other financial resources have made alternative schooling more feasible. Ultimately, families are seeking environments that align more closely with their values and provide greater control over the academic, moral, and spiritual development of their children.

Helpful Resources to Continue Wrestling

• The Lost Tools of Learning by Dorothy L. Sayers

• On Secular Education by R.L. Dabney

• For the Children’s Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay

• The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis

Conclusion

Our responsibility as parents is weighty but liberating. God calls us to teach, nurture, and guide our children, yet He also gives us freedom to make decisions according to our circumstances. The ultimate goal is not a perfect school or curriculum, but to raise children in the knowledge and fear of the Lord, rooted in Christ and prepared to glorify Him in every sphere of life.

1 Corinthians 13:4-13

[4] Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant [5] or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; [6] it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. [7] Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

[8] Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. [9] For we know in part and we prophesy in part, [10] but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. [11] When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. [12] For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

[13] So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

3 Key Takeaways

• Biblical love is defined by character, not feelings. True love is patient, kind, humble, truthful, enduring, and self-sacrificing—perfectly demonstrated in Jesus Christ and meant to be reflected in the life of believers.

• Love is the greatest and most lasting gift of God. Spiritual gifts, knowledge, and miraculous experiences will pass away, but love is eternal and is the clearest evidence of the transforming power of the gospel.

• Heaven will be the full realization of love. In this life we experience God’s love only partially, but in eternity believers will fully know God and live forever in a perfect “world of love” with Him and His people.

3 Helpful Quotes

1. “You could take the word love and replace it with the name of Jesus, and it would be 100% true.”

2. “The greatest miracle of all is when God takes a dead, hateful heart and transforms it into someone who loves.”

3. “Right now we see love in a mirror dimly, but heaven will be a world of love where we experience it fully.”

In the last century, discussions about spiritual gifts have become an especially significant dividing line among many Protestant denominations, particularly with the rise of Pentecostal and charismatic movements. Because of this, thinking carefully about the nature and purpose of these gifts is especially important today.

In the midst of wrestling with difficult passages, I am encouraged by what the Apostle Peter says about Paul’s letters, acknowledging: “…there are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction…” (2 Peter 3:16, ESV). This reminder encourages humility and careful study when approaching passages like these.

Because of this, it is often helpful to listen to voices from earlier generations of the church who wrestled with these passages long before our modern debates. One resource that has been particularly helpful to me is Charity and Its Fruits by Jonathan Edwards, which I have now read through twice. In his second sermon, Edwards offers a helpful framework for thinking about the gifts of the Spirit by distinguishing four categories of God’s gifts:

• Common gifts — influences of the Spirit experienced by both believers and unbelievers.

• Saving gifts — graces given to those united to Christ, such as faith and love.

• Extraordinary gifts — miraculous gifts like prophecy, tongues, and miracles given at key moments in redemptive history.

• Ordinary gifts — the regular gifts the Spirit gives for the ongoing life and growth of the church.

Edwards’ most helpful distinction for understanding passages like 1 Corinthians 12–13 is between extraordinary gifts and ordinary gifts. Extraordinary gifts—such as prophecy, tongues, and miracles—were often given to reveal or confirm God’s message and to establish the early church.

Yet Edwards carefully notes that extraordinary gifts, while miraculous, do not guarantee that a person has received salvation. Scripture gives several examples where God granted such gifts to individuals who were not truly walking with Him. Balaam prophesied when the Spirit of God came upon him (Numbers 24:2). King Saul prophesied among the prophets (1 Samuel 10:10–11). Judas was sent out with the other disciples and participated in their ministry (Matthew 10:1–8).

Because of this, Jesus warns that some will say:

“Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?”
— Matthew 7:22 (ESV)

For Edwards, this reinforces Paul’s central point in 1 Corinthians 13: the greatest evidence of the Spirit’s work is not miraculous power but genuine Christian love.

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.”
— 1 Corinthians 13:1 (ESV)

Extraordinary gifts may amaze people for a time, but love reflects the transforming work of the Spirit in the heart and produces lasting fruit. Love, Edwards argues, is the true mark of genuine union with Christ.

Practical Implications

This has several practical implications for us.

First, every believer has been given gifts by God, and those gifts exist to build up the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11–13; 1 Peter 4:10).

Second, the gifts that most believers will exercise are not dramatic or miraculous, but the ordinary gifts that sustain the life of the church — teaching, serving, encouraging, giving, leading, and showing mercy (Romans 12:6–8).

Third, Scripture calls us not merely to identify our gifts, but to grow in love, which Paul describes as the greatest and most enduring fruit of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 13:8–13; Galatians 5:22–23).

Fourth, experiences of the supernatural—whether real or perceived—are not the ultimate test of salvation. The most important question is this: Do you love? Do you love God, and do you love His people? Scripture reminds us, “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers” (1 John 3:14, ESV).

Conclusion

As we continue walking through First Corinthians, Paul’s message becomes clear: spiritual gifts are valuable, but they are not the ultimate goal. Their purpose is to help believers love and serve one another more faithfully.

Gifts may differ. Roles may vary. But the measure of spiritual maturity is not how impressive our abilities appear — it is how deeply we reflect the love of Christ.

As Scripture reminds us:

“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
— 1 Corinthians 13:13 (ESV)

May we pursue not only clarity in doctrine but also Christlike love in practice, using whatever gifts God has given us for the good of His church and the glory of our Savior.

Before we talk about the different kinds of gifts that exist, it is important to answer the practical question many believers are asking:

How do you determine your spiritual gifts?

So How Do You Determine Your Gifts?

Spiritual gifts are intended to be used within the body of Christ. God gives them sovereignly to support and strengthen the work of the church (1 Corinthians 12:18; 12:11).

Today there are hundreds of books, quizzes, and online guides that claim to help you discover your gifts. Many of these function much like personality tests, suggesting that you can determine your spiritual gifts by answering a series of questions on your computer.

This is not the biblical pattern.

Instead, Scripture points us to a much simpler and more practical process. For someone beginning to explore their gifts, two basic steps can help guide the process.

Say Yes to Every Opportunity to Serve

If you are a new believer—or someone who has been sitting on the sidelines of church life for a while—there is no way to discern your spiritual gifts apart from serving.

The best way to see how God has gifted you is to start by testing the waters. These are divinely given gifts, so even if something seems outside your natural abilities, God often works in surprising ways when we step out in faith (2 Corinthians 3:5; Philippians 2:13).

It is also important to remember that God does not always distribute gifts all at once. As believers grow and encounter new opportunities, God often equips them in new ways to meet the needs before them (1 Peter 4:10).

Practically speaking, serve wherever you are able. Be intentional and remember that time spent serving the people of God is never wasted (1 Corinthians 15:58).

When I first became a Christian, I did everything I could. I helped with Vacation Bible School, sang in the choir, went on mission trips, served at the food pantry, and helped in the church office. Any opportunity I could find, I would take.

Over the years in ministry, dozens of situations have arisen where I did not believe I had the gifting or strength to do what was needed. Yet time and time again I discovered that God often provides the gift in the moment of obedience.

Show Love to the Whole Body of Christ

The second step overlaps with the first, but it is essential.

1 Corinthians 12, the great chapter on spiritual gifts, is immediately followed by 1 Corinthians 13, the famous chapter on love. This is not accidental. Spiritual gifts exist so that believers can love and serve the body of Christ more effectively (1 Corinthians 13:1–3).

Break out of your comfort zone and serve people whose struggles are different from yours. Step outside your normal circle of friends and care for people with different backgrounds and experiences.

Love the family with six rowdy kids who are struggling to get by.
Love the shut-in who can no longer leave their home .
Love the lonely divorced woman.
Love families raising children with disabilities.
Love the kind old ladies and the grumpy old men.
Love the shy, well-behaved child and the child who is constantly fighting for attention.

As you seek to love people in word and deed (1 John 3:18), you will begin to recognize where God has uniquely equipped you to meet needs.

If you find yourself struggling to love a particular person or group, pray and earnestly ask God to give you the love that only He can provide (Romans 5:5).

Extraordinary Gifts vs. Ordinary Gifts

Before concluding, it is helpful to understand an important distinction that many theologians have observed in Scripture.

Jonathan Edwards, the great American revivalist, in his sermons on 1 Corinthians 13, distinguished between two broad categories of spiritual gifts: extraordinary gifts and ordinary gifts.

The extraordinary gifts were those given for the purpose of revelation or confirming revelation, such as prophecy, tongues, miracles, and healings (1 Corinthians 12:8–10; Hebrews 2:3–4; 2 Corinthians 12:12). These gifts often receive the most attention because they appear dramatic or supernatural.

However, Edwards pointed out that these are actually the lesser gifts, because they are not necessarily connected with salvation. Scripture records several instances of unbelievers exercising extraordinary gifts. Balaam prophesied when the Spirit of God came upon him (Numbers 24:2), King Saul prophesied among the prophets (1 Samuel 10:10–11), and Caiaphas unknowingly prophesied about Christ’s death (John 11:51–52). Jesus even warned that some would prophesy and perform miracles in His name yet still not truly belong to Him (Matthew 7:22–23).

By contrast, the ordinary gifts of the Spirit—such as teaching, service, encouragement, giving, leadership, mercy, and helps—are given for the regular building up of the church (Romans 12:6–8; 1 Corinthians 12:28; 1 Peter 4:10–11). These are the gifts most believers will experience and exercise in the ordinary life of the church.

Conclusion

To keep it simple, the best way to discover your spiritual gifts is to step forward and begin serving.

You cannot receive something if you never reach out and take it. God has placed you in the church surrounded by opportunities to love and serve others. As you do, you will gradually discover the gifts He has given you—and those gifts will grow as you use them for the building up of His people (Ephesians 4:16).

• Your public life either honors or contradicts the name of Jesus you carry.

• The Lord’s Supper exposes whether the church is truly united or quietly divided.

• Communion is more than a remembrance — it calls us to examine our hearts, love one another, and participate seriously in Christ’s work.

“Brokenness is not the same as sin. Sin is rebellion against a holy God. Brokenness is the effect of that rebellion in our lives and the world around us.” — J. Josh Smith

That distinction is simple, but it is profoundly clarifying.

Scripture tells us that sin entered the world through Adam, and with it came death and decay (Romans 5:12). When Adam sinned, creation itself was “subjected to futility” (Romans 8:20). Everything fractured. We live in a fallen world filled with pain, anguish, hurricanes, disease, and disability. That is brokenness—the consequence of rebellion echoing through creation.

Yet our world often confuses sin and brokenness in both directions.

Some redefine all sin as brokenness. In this view, our primary problem is damage, not guilt. The solution becomes therapy, education, reform, or societal progress. Fix enough smaller issues and we will heal the world. But this is like putting a cartoon bandage on a gunshot wound. It misunderstands the depth of the problem. Sin is not merely damage done to us; it is rebellion flowing from us.

Others collapse everything into personal sin. All suffering must be a direct result of someone’s wrongdoing. We see this logic in Job’s friends, who insisted that his calamities had to be punishment for hidden sin (Job 4–5). Jesus Himself corrected this thinking when asked about a man born blind: “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents” (John 9:3). Not all brokenness is traceable to a specific act of rebellion.

Both errors distort the gospel. The first minimizes sin and turns salvation into moral or social improvement. The second leans toward a functional prosperity theology: clean up your behavior and suffering will disappear.

The Bible offers a better answer. Yes, our sin actively causes brokenness. But not all brokenness is the result of our personal sin. And we cannot solve suffering by mere behavioral correction.

The ultimate answer is not a false gospel of self-improvement, whether personal or societal. It is the true gospel of Jesus Christ—who came down from heaven, lived the perfect life we failed to live, died the death we deserved, and rose again. In His resurrection, He defeated sin and began the restoration of all things, starting in us.

Sin requires forgiveness. Brokenness requires restoration. In Christ, we receive both.

In the last few weeks, additional court documents related to Jeffrey Epstein have been made public through federal court unsealing orders connected to prior civil litigation. These documents include depositions, previously sealed testimony, flight logs, and associated names. It is important to note that the release of names in court documents does not in itself constitute proof of criminal guilt, and many individuals named have not been charged with crimes related to Epstein. At the same time, Epstein himself was previously convicted in 2008 in Florida for solicitation involving a minor and was later federally charged in 2019 with sex trafficking of minors before his death. While the full scope of what occurred is still debated and investigated, what has been presented is truly horrifying.

I want to state plainly that this evil actually serves as an apologetic for the goodness and mercy of God (Romans 3:5–6).

Evil has not suddenly become more rampant than ever before (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Rather, God, in His restraining hand, has often prevented us from seeing the full extent of our own depravity. Scripture teaches that the human heart is desperately sick (Jeremiah 17:9). And when God allows this evil to bleed out before our eyes, He enables us to see the red stains of our own guilt laid bare (Romans 3:23).

The argument that we are merely the products of random chance, and that the only meaning and morality in this world are things we must create for ourselves, is fatally flawed—and it is dying before our very eyes. When confronted with real evil, people instinctively appeal to objective moral standards. That instinct testifies that morality is not self-created but grounded beyond us (Romans 2:14–15).

I have seen several people say that after reading and hearing about the evils detailed in these files, they now better understand why God in the Old Testament would judge entire cities and flood the world (Genesis 6:5–7), and why in the New Testament He states clearly that all of us will be judged for what we have done (2 Corinthians 5:10), and that apart from salvation there is eternal punishment (Matthew 25:46). This evil that is unveiled before us on the news lives in our own chests (Mark 7:21–23). Although God restrains it, the old phrase remains true: there but for the grace of God go I (1 Corinthians 4:7).

We burn with anger and desire vengeance when we see the veil pulled back. Scripture reminds us, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord” (Romans 12:19). Only when the vileness is made plain do we begin to honestly reflect and see the need for the justice and wrath of God—things we often push to the back of our minds because we cannot handle the truth: although we desire this justice for those men, we cannot stand before the fact that we deserve this justice as well (Romans 3:23; 6:23).

We try to suppress this truth (Romans 1:18), like a child pushing a beach ball under the water, only to find that it slips free and comes bouncing back into their face. The claim that morality is subjective collapses when confronted with real evil in the real world.

As C. S. Lewis argued in The Abolition of Man, we are becoming “men without chests.” We have severed reading, writing, math, history, and science from religion, morality, philosophy, and beauty, as though facts can float free from meaning. Yet truth is unified because it is grounded in the God who is Truth (John 14:6).

We have trained ourselves to deny objective morality, and yet when confronted with real evil, something within us protests. Our outrage betrays us. It reveals that we know this is not merely socially inconvenient or evolutionarily disadvantageous. It is wicked.

According to the secular worldview, morality is constructed, preferences are personal, and power defines reality. But when evil of this magnitude is exposed, we do not respond with detached analysis—we respond with moral condemnation. The very reaction proves that we cannot escape objective standards.

We do not need a more consistent secularism. We need a unified worldview grounded in Christ—the One in whom truth, justice, mercy, and judgment are held together

We have turned from the worship of the one true God and exchanged Him for idols (Romans 1:22–25). The apostle Paul wrote that “an idol has no real existence” (1 Corinthians 8:4), yet he also warned that sacrifices offered to false gods are offered to demons (1 Corinthians 10:20). When societies suppress the knowledge of God, Scripture says He gives them over to their desires (Romans 1:24–28). What then follows? Sexual immorality, exploitation, greed, violence, and the unraveling of the family (Romans 1:29–32).

Evil is the apologetic of the good. We know evil when we see it because we are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). Even if that image is marred, we cannot bury the moral law written on our hearts forever (Romans 2:15).

So if you are burdened by the evils of this world, if your soul is inflamed by what you see before you, there is an answer—and His name is Christ (Matthew 11:28).

Christ is King, and He will return to judge this broken earth (Acts 17:31). Call out to Him for salvation (Romans 10:9–13). Trust in His finished work on the cross (John 19:30). Believe that He can save you—and He will (John 6:37).

He bore the wrath that justice demands (Romans 3:25–26). The question is often asked, “Why do good men suffer?” The answer is that it has only ever happened once (1 Peter 3:18)—and He did it willingly (John 10:18).

• You Can’t Skip Hard Texts
  Faithful preaching means going through difficult passages, not around them. All Scripture is profitable, and even confusing texts contain blessing when rightly understood in context.

• Authority Flows from Christ
  Christ is the head of every person. Marriage reflects that order—not as domination, but as loving, sacrificial leadership and willing honor. Submission in Scripture is about unity and design, not inequality.

• Glory, Honor, and Distinction Matter
  In Corinth, head coverings symbolized rebellion or self-exaltation. The deeper principle: don’t dishonor your spouse or blur God-given distinctions. Men and women are equal in worth, distinct in role, and meant to reflect God together.

• The Gospel Restores What We’ve Distorted
  We often fail in marriage and in reflecting God’s image. But Christ—the perfect Head—laid down His life to redeem us. Repent, believe, and let the Gospel reshape your identity, your marriage, and your witness.
  

  

  Sovereignty in Motion is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

There is a quiet but widespread misunderstanding in the church: that our bodies are temporary, disposable, or spiritually irrelevant. We talk about “saving souls” as if the body were just packaging—something to be tolerated now and discarded later. But Scripture tells a very different story.

From the opening pages of Genesis to the empty tomb of Jesus, God insists that bodies matter. Not just souls. Not just hearts. Bodies. The Christian hope is not escape from physical existence, but the redemption of it. And yet, most of us live at war with our own flesh—frustrated by its limits, embarrassed by its weaknesses, or exhausted by its pain.

If we are honest, many of us don’t just long for our bodies to be healed—we sometimes long to be free from having bodies at all. But the gospel does not teach us to despise embodiment. It teaches us to hope for resurrection.

Your Body Is Eternal

Your body was created with the intention of never dying. Death is an intruder, not a design feature (Genesis 2; Romans 5). The resurrection of Jesus is God’s declaration that bodies matter—and that they will be restored.

Christian hope is not the abandonment of the body, but its renewal. The empty tomb does not point us away from creation, but toward a redeemed one.

Our Bodies Are Broken

I have spent hours looking at medical images and reading numbers and figures surrounding the brokenness of my son’s body. I have read genetic reports showing missing material in his chromosomes—deficiencies that lead to physical abnormalities and lifelong complications.

I feel that brokenness in myself too. After a rough night with little sleep, my body reminds me of its limits. Last year, I had to receive a cortisone shot to manage pain in my back. Many have endured far worse than I have, but the reminder is the same: our bodies fail us.

Jesus Himself felt the limitations of the human body. After being beaten to within an inch of His life by Roman guards, He endured the sting of every lash of the cat-o’-nine-tails as it tore the skin from His back. He collapsed beneath the weight of the crossbeam as He walked up the hill to be nailed to the cross.

We live in a fallen world. And many long not just for healed bodies, but for freedom from embodied existence itself. Some experience deep dissatisfaction with their appearance, their gender, their abilities, and much more.

We Are Dissatisfied With Our Bodies

Every January, people across the country resolve to reshape their bodies into what they wish they were. According to recent reports, gym memberships spike by roughly 12% at the beginning of the year. We want our bodies to be different. We want them to match the image we have constructed in our minds of the “ideal” body.

In the last decade, there has been a noticeable rise in eating disorders, body dysmorphia, hormone therapy, and cosmetic or elective surgeries. While the desire to be healthy and strong is a good and godly desire, dissatisfaction—when left unchecked—can morph into something destructive.

This dissatisfaction is rooted in a deeper reality: our bodies are broken. We are not who we were originally created to be. With each passing day, our bodies deteriorate further. Sickness intrudes. Strength fades.

Dissatisfaction itself is not sinful, because it is honest. Something truly is wrong. But brokenness does not negate value.

With three little boys in my house, things break often. Toys crack. Books tear. Furniture gets damaged. Each time, we ask the same question: Is this worth repairing? Is this worth saving? If not, it’s thrown away. If it is, we do whatever it takes to restore it.

Your Body Is Part of the Image of God

When God created humanity, He made us male and female in His image. No matter your gender, skin color, size, or ability, your body was created to reflect something true about God (Genesis 1:27).

When Jesus walked the earth, He took upon Himself this veil of flesh and dust. He is “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). He breathed the same air we breathe. He drank water like you and me. He felt hunger and thirst. He experienced the full weight of human frailty, limitation, pain, and exhaustion.

The value of our bodies was put on full display when God Himself stepped out of heaven and entered one.

You can buy a baseball today—nearly identical to the ones used by professionals—for about six dollars. Yet in 2024, the most expensive baseball ever sold at auction was Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball from his historic season, selling for $4.39 million. The ball itself isn’t different in material. Its value comes from who touched it and what moment it was part of. It costs only a few dollars to manufacture a baseball—yet this one sold for over four million because it was connected to greatness. In the same way, our bodies have value because God created them—but their worth was magnified when God Himself chose to inhabit one just like yours.

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Your Body Was Purchased by Jesus and United with the Spirit

Your specific body was purchased by Jesus. You do not belong to yourself. “You were bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20).

Your body is not merely something you have—it is something God has chosen to dwell in (1 Corinthians 6:19). Even in its weakness, even in its brokenness, your body is sacred ground.

So What?

These truths shape far more than abstract theology—they reshape how we live in our own skin.

The Christian hope is not a disembodied spiritual existence floating on heavenly clouds, but an embodied life in a restored creation (Romans 8:18–25; 1 Corinthians 15). Resurrection, not escape, is the end of the story.

That means our differences matter. Skin color, hair color, voice, sex, and bodily form are not accidents or mistakes. They are part of how God made us. Yes, we live in a fallen world, and our bodies bear the weight and wounds of that curse. But the core of who you are is not a defect to be corrected.

Some of us will be larger, some smaller. Some lighter, some darker. Some strong, some frail. But our worth does not come from any of these things. Our worth comes from this: God made us, God entered one of us, and God intends to raise us.