July 2, 2025

Viewing all things through the lens of the True and the beautiful!

The True

Fried Eggs on the Sidewalk

It was hot enough to fry eggs on the sidewalk (at least the darker sidewalks). For most of last week, our region (and many others) experienced an intense heat wave. Air temperatures were over 100 degrees, and thick humidity pushed the heat index to nearly 120 degrees at times.

It was beyond hot. It was dangerous. Even the community pool provided very little relief (the water temperature reached 93 degrees at one point), and air conditioners were strained to their limits. It was so hot that regular everyday decisions like going outside for a walk had to be reconsidered with the weather in mind.

People were irritable as a result. And to be clear, by “people,” I mean me! The heat was oppressive and restrictive, and it made me cranky. I was uncomfortable and I didn’t like it. I suspect I am far from alone in this, but I will speak conclusively for only myself: The heat made me grumpy!

I feel a similar negativity about figurative heat in my life—and on this point, I will take the liberty of making a safe assumption that you do too. Heat in your life comes in all shapes and sizes. It comes in challenges, trials, obstacles, and opposition. Perhaps most pointedly, it comes through relationships. You are an imperfect being. So am I, and so is every person you encounter. These imperfections and differences create friction, and friction creates heat.

If hot weather causes crankiness, just wait until the heat of life and relational friction hits!

It is not fun. It is uncomfortable. It is something most of us will go great lengths to avoid. Just as we will reorient our schedule to avoid the outdoors during a heat wave, you and I will reorient our lives to avoid the heat of relational friction.

But that is not always the best decision. Sometimes, the heat of the moment is exactly where you are called to be.

To be clear, you and I need to exercise prudence and wisdom, and scripture is clear we are to avoid the heat of useless quarrels (2 Tim. 2:23, Tit. 3:9, Pr. 20:3) and folly (Pr. 19:3).

However, time and time again, the Word of God reminds us our refining process requires heat!

“But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver” (Mal. 3:2-3).

“This third I will put into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God’” (Zech. 13:9).

“See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction” (Is. 48:10).

My friend, I have no doubt you dislike the heat of refining. I have no doubt you want to avoid exposure to it, and you prefer the comfort of the cool. But your God longs for your purity. He desires your refining. He sends heat—especially through relationships—to see to it that you are becoming more like Him.

You might feel like the egg frying on the sidewalk. But the truth you can stand on this week is this: You serve a God who loves you too much to leave you as you are, and He is using the heat in your life to refine you, and to produce a treasure worthy of His name.

After all, you bear His name (Is. 43:1). That honor is worth enduring far more than a little heat.

World

Peace Pact

After 30 years of fighting between dozens of factions, and hundreds of thousands—or even millions—of people dead, there is a new peace deal in place between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. The pact was brokered by the United States and signed by Congo Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner and Rwanda Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe. Both parties note the pact is a critical step toward long term peace but acknowledge there are a significant number of warring factions who are not party to the deal. As a result, there is work to do to achieve a true and lasting peace.

Analysis and eternal perspective: You have heard this before. Peace formed between humans is fragile. Even so, you are commanded to persistently pursue it (Ps. 34:14), and you should celebrate its advance when it occurs.

The Rwandan genocide of 1994 left at least half a million people (some estimates are far higher) dead and triggered 30 years of war. Those years include numerous bloody conflicts, any one of which would be catastrophic on its own. The region is now home to an entire generation who knows only war and violence. To these precious souls, peace is only a word.

As you pray about this story and over those living under this oppression of violence, pray that the Prince of Peace would reign over all (Is. 9:6). Pray for the binding up of wounds (Ps. 147:3), and for wisdom for all those with authority and influence over the disparate factions (Rom. 13:1-7).

“God, may you author a peace for these precious souls you love! May you use these events to soften hearts, bind up wounds, and point toward flourishing.”

World

Trade Pact

The United States and China have a deal. While details and implementation specifics remain incomplete, both countries confirm an agreement to allow the U.S. more access to rare earth minerals in exchange for an easing of tariffs on imports from China. The deal was reached after phone negotiations between U.S. President Donald Trump and China President Xi Jinping, and follow-on meetings between senior officials from both nations.

Analysis and eternal perspective: In a sense, this too is a fragile peace—though mostly economic in nature. The U.S. and China are the two dominant economies of the world, and the recent escalation of economic conflict between the two is being felt all around the world. It remains to be seen whether this deal will be the first step of many that will be necessary to fully rebuild the economic relationship between the superpowers.

As a Jesus follower, you are to seek the peace and prosperity of your community—temporary though it may be (Jer. 29:5-7). You are also implored to lead an abundant life marked by love for your neighbor and generosity to the needy (Pr. 14:21). This posture of living selflessly for the good of those around you is one of the central components of following Jesus. It is inseparable from the decision to yield to the lordship of Jesus.

As you consider the macro worldwide effect of a trade deal between superpowers, seize the moment to reflect on how you can personally embrace the call to sow flourishing into your neighbors and the needy around you.

U.S.

Constitutional Limitations

The U.S. Supreme Court has issued an opinion to limit so-called “universal injunctions” or “nationwide injunctions.” The decision, which comes as part of a larger challenge to the administration’s interpretation of birthright citizenship (the merits of which were not decided by the opinion), will have a significant impact in how judicial adjudications are handled across a wide range of issues. The opinion was authored by Justice Amy Coney Barrett and was decided by a 6-3 vote along ideological lines.

Analysis and eternal perspective: Article III of the U.S. Constitution states: “The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.”

The very first Congress of the United States used this power to pass the Judiciary Act of 1789, which created “lower courts” (both district or “trial” courts and circuit or “appeals” courts). Even so, there remains a distinction between the source of the U.S. Supreme Court’s authority—which comes directly from the text of the U.S. Constitution—and the source of the lower courts’ authority—which is derived from statute, and as such is subject to restriction, limitation, or even elimination by the same method.

This week’s ruling is an acknowledgment of constitutional limitations on the Article III branch. The judicial branch has significant powers, but also clear limitations. It is empowered to decide “cases and controversies,” but not to legislate. This week’s opinion restrains the lower courts’ authority to only the parties involved in the dispute before them, and leaves any broader decision-making authority to the legislature and, in “cases and controversies,” to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The other federal branches—the legislative branch and the executive branch—are similarly empowered with specific authority and tools, and similarly restricted by bounds and limitations to those powers. This balance and tension is an intentional feature of the republican form of government established by the Founders.

Earthly freedom—including the ability to participate in self-governance—is a gift that reflects the character of your Creator. As a Jesus follower, you also know and understand that “all authority in heaven and on earth” belongs to Jesus (Matt 28:18).

Human authorities need limitations.

Your God’s authority is boundless—against both time and any other human consideration.

The Beautiful

Snail on a Pear

Why is there a snail on the pear? Imagine what the snail must be thinking: “How did I get here? . . . Why am I here? . . . How do I get down?”

It is mostly good-natured jest, but it is also true. You may not be sure how you arrived at your station in life or fully aware of God’s purpose for it, and you may even be simply wondering how to get away from it. But be sure to stop long enough to zoom out and consider the larger picture of where God has planted you.

You just might discover an abundance of goodness beyond what you can imagine (or, in the case of the snail, consume)!

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:10).

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