Dale Cresap's blog

Do you see my hand at work in your life correcting your faults? Do you ever wonder why it takes as long as it does? I acknowledge that this is a painful process, and I know what you are able to bear. Sometimes it is more than you think it is, but I do not eagerly afflict my children lest they should be grieved.

Can you define love? Everyone ‘knows’ what it is, but have you ever tried to write out a concise verbal definition? It is not as easy as you might assume. For a concept like this people tend to think in archetypes rather than verbal abstractions.

To cherish and advance the interests of your country is called patriotism. This is a widely admired trait in every country, and something you can admire even in citizens of other countries. This is problematic when those countries are your enemies or under despotic rule, but the general principle still holds.

The fool has said in his heart that there is no God. Fools come in various degrees. A lesser fool will acknowledge that I exist, but live as if I do not. This is an unstable double-minded man.

My word tells you to seek and you will find. Now you have found me and entered into life. Does this mean that you should stop seeking? Have obtained an exhaustive knowledge of me? Do you know as you are known? My commandment to you to seek is continuous and lifelong. Keep seeking and you will keep finding.

Do pain and suffering put you in a bad mood? It is not fair to other people to transfer your trials and afflictions to them. This is a natural reaction, but I have called you to a higher response. It is normal to love your friends and hate your enemies, and even the heathen are kind to those who are kind to them.

Have you ever heard of a court case in which someone who is known to be guilty is acquitted because the evidence against them was inadmissible? Does this seem like a miscarriage of justice to you? Do you find it comforting or disturbing to know that in the final judgment that everything is recorded and everything is admissible?

When you are in a time of trial and difficulty, do you ever wonder if I am the source of these things? This question has plagued theologians for centuries and they have not resolved it. It is an unhelpful question much as the Pharisees in my own time asked if the man being born blind was the result of his sin or his parents sin. You will not find the truth by asking the wrong questions. Difficulties come to everyone as part of the human condition. Since no one is exempt, you should seek to benefit from yours rather than becoming bitter or resentful.

Owe no man anything have you heard this verse used as a basis for teaching Christians to get out of debt? That is a good thing to do, but the real meaning of the verse is that you should love one another. Do you owe a debt of love? You are able to love because I first loved you. While you were yet a sinner I reached out to you and laid down my life for you. Does it trouble you to think that you have acquired a debt of love that you can never repay? There is no reason at all to think of a life of love in a negative sense. I did it for the joy set before me.