It’s hard to know which one is more frustrating. The one who is inactive, ot the one who actively frustrates the desire for peaceful progress. The reason why it’s such a tight race between the two types of people is because in as much as the latter is an opponent, at least you know where […]
Read More What Makes Peace? 4 – ConstructiveShe conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children. (Genesis 29:35) You met your match. You imagine using that phrase when you see what Jacob endures when he meets Laban. The trickster comes across a […]
Read More Genesis: 29 – A Tricky SituationFor God’s sake do something. It’s a pity that this phrase is usually uttered in frustration at someone’s inactivity. Indeed such is it’s dismissive and piqued usage that some put it down as taking the name in vain. All that is a pity actually because it is the ethos of why peacemakers are active. It […]
Read More What Makes Peace? 3 – ActionI am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. (Genesis 28:15) It is fascinating. Like his grandfather, Jacob had such an encounter with God that it became a significant […]
Read More Genesis: 28 – A Divine EncounterHello, my name is Christopher Dryden, I am a peacemaker. I am also a father of three daughters. The youngest daughter is named Zoe (there should be two dots over the e, but nevertheless). This April she will turn five years old and it’s already a good time to reflect on why she was so […]
Read More What Makes Peace? 2 – EnthusiasmHe moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarrelled over it. He named it Rehoboth saying, “Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.” (Genesis 26:22) What’s with the wells? Well, wells means access to water. Access to water is a key meeting point for animals […]
Read More Genesis: 26 – All’s Well That Ends WellThen Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright. (Genesis 25:34) Genesis 25 is a fascinating chapter covering a span of a number of years. It starts with the rest of the life of the father of faith and the […]
Read More Genesis: 25 – When The Birthright Went WrongThen Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. (Genesis 24:67) It did not occur to me just how many expressions of true love are apparent throughout this chapter. Father-Son Love: The incident […]
Read More Genesis: 24 – True LoveWe are given to extremes. A good friend of mine informed me of one perspective on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Here the taking of the tree exposed us to the full breadth of the extremes of good and evil. Rather than depending on God for all things, left to our own […]
Read More Order and SpontaneityI am glad I belong to the family of God. It is so good to know He as the loving, heavenly Father makes it His point of duty to care for His own. I appreciate at times it doesn’t look like it. I know there are testing experiences that makes us wonder. This is why […]
Read More Another Word of Thanks
