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Giving freely, sacrificially, and without hesitation—that is a kind of generosity most of us expect only from family. When the Spirit is at work, the church becomes family. Image Credit: Floris van Dyck

What holds the church together? Common interests? Affection? A welcoming atmosphere? Or is it something deeper; something entirely outside of the self; something that propels us outward even as we draw closer together?

Episode 54: Is the desire for justice legitimate? What about vengeance? What role does wrath have in our picture of God? How can love and wrath coexist, and good ultimately overcome evil?

Episode 53: The desire for revenge is as natural as it is unhelpful. Evil begets evil, and often in the name of justice. But only in God can we find true justice, and only in Christ do we find perfect peace.   Image credit: Gavin Hamilton, Achilles Lamenting the Death of Patroclus

Episode 52: People are hard to love, and loving people that are hard to love is exhausting. When loving feels like work, and it often does, where can we find the energy to love? Paul suggests that it is found in love Himself. Image credit: Ontley on Wikimedia Commons

Episode 51: Most of us are nice people most of the time. We treat people with respect and avoid causing offense, but is that love? The Bible invites us to consider the deeper motivations of our hearts and let niceness give way to genuine love.

Episode 50: One of the signs of a truly gospel-shaped community is hospitality and welcome, particularly towards those for whom it is most difficult. It is a hospitality born from a deep understanding of the radical welcome of God. Image credit: Manel Sallem on Wikimedia Commons

Episode 49: There is no pride of place in God's kingdom. No one deserves a seat at God's table. The extent to which we can truly ask the question, "why me?", is the extent to which we can begin to understand the generous, lavish hospitality of God. Image credit: Jeanne Boleyn on Wikimedia Commons

Episode 48: Betrayal is one of the worst experiences any of us can ever go through. For most relationships, it marks the end. It is easy to assume, perhaps subconsciously, that the same would be true of our relationship with God. Yet God's love is so great that he pursues even those who willfully abandon him—and seeks to bring them home. Image credit: Bernard Gagnon on Wikimedia Commons

Episode 47: Marriage has always provided fertile soil for metaphors of God's love for his people. Loyalty, fidelity, selflessness; all of these describe God's love. The book of Hosea describes God's jealousy, and it does so through a very unlikely marriage.

Episode 46: Loving others can be scary, and not without cause. Community can overwhelm, disappoint, and destroy, not least because the community can become too important. God calls us to love him first, and in so loving him, to find freedom in loving others. Image credit: Rembrandt van Rijn  

Who serves who in the church? Despite the tremendous importance of personal growth in holiness, the Apostle Paul invites us to consider that we were primarily redeemed for one another. Image credit: IDuke on English Wikipedia

True love is hard to believe. Most of our relationships are subtly based on transactions, even with those we love, and ultimately rooted in fear. God's love takes us by surprise and, at times, offends us. But it is only in the love of God that we find the freedom to love likewise.

Real love can be annoying, real love can be difficult, real love can hurt. Real love comes from God, in humble submission to the work of his Spirit—and despite our natural inclinations, is well worth the struggle. Image by Gustave Doré

Most of us aspire to greatness in one sense or another. We discipline our bodies, our minds, our schedules. We go without sleep, we go without comfort, all for the sake of some worthy goal. But how many of us aspire to grow in love?

The greatest feelings of dependence and humility often come through times of great suffering. Though we are brought low, God's ultimate goal is to make us whole. It is only by truly seeing the magnitude of our need and the depth of our own sin that we find true rest in God's forgiveness. As Luther wrote, "Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly, for he is victorious over sin, death, and the world" (LW 48:281-282). Thank you for listening to season 2! Gospel Mindfulness will return in the Fall with a new series on seven big questions people have about God, the Bible, and Christianity. *Modified image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay

All of us follow someone or something, and that something, if it isn't God, is probably a tyrant. *Modified image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

The freedom the choose. It is one of those natural rights that needs no argument in the modern day, perhaps especially in the domain of religion. But when given the choice of who or what to worship, what do we choose? In all likelihood, we pick a bigger, better version of what appears uncannily like ourselves. *Modified photo by succo from Pixabay

Idolatry is more than bowing down before statues. It is the making of a god in our own image and on our own terms. An idol can be physical or, more often than not, a creation of the heart. *Modified photo by Sam Valadi

God is a God of beauty, order, and light. The evidence for this is all around us, just there is also evidence of something dark in the world and in ourselves. But God is at work in and for his people—a holy people, called to be a light in this world.