Posts by John Staiger (Page 37)

Bitterness of spirit is a sad thing to behold. I have known Christians who lived and died believing that God and man alike had deliberately dealt them one bad hand after another. Nothing was their fault, and you would be adding your name to a very long list of enemies if you told them so. One can hear echoes of Esau’s bitter cry when realising that he was bested by his brother, Jacob (Genesis 27:34). Conversely, I have met very…

The older one gets the less they are likely to care about admitting to their fears. By contrast, it takes a brave child to shrug off those dreaded words, “Are you scared?” I asked a brother if he had been to Queenstown and seen the spectacular scenery from the gondola. He said, “I went on the gondola, but I saw nothing.” I wondered if there had been a strange happening that prevented everyone from seeing anything. But he continued, “I…

Before I had a major operation the surgical team visited my bedside. I appreciated the reassuring tones of the conversation and admired them for believing it possible that I might be able to understand a word they were saying. When they asked me if I had any questions, I saw myself as a TV Medical Drama patient who was trying to nod and smile in all the right places. This team had a job to do, and someone somewhere had…

In my early teens, I attended a few evening Bible Classes held at a Catholic school. One of the classes covered the mythical story of Narcissus, the handsome young man who fell in love with his own reflection. Though there is more to the story, it ends with him gazing into a pool of water and slowly pining away and dying. In recent years we have heard the term Narcissus applied to more than a few people; both great and…

Jesus’ life had become unhinged as far as his family was concerned. It was time for an “intervention.” They had concluded that the pressures of ministry—relentless crowds and being unable to find time to eat—had pushed him over the edge. Their prognosis? “He is out of his mind” (Mark 3:21). You can only imagine the hand wringing as Jesus’ family tried to decide what to do with their temporarily insane brother. Having obviously achieved consensus, and having left to collect…

I once heard one brother say to another, “I hear that there is a new translation that says, “The Apostles nicknamed Barnabas, Barny.” At the time, even I thought that such a translation sounded irreligious, (and I had just come off the Good News Bible). Of course, no such translation exists; it was an urban legend. He was probably referring to the 1971 Living Bible’s translation of Acts 4:36, which reads: “For instance, there was Joseph (the one the apostles…

Smiling Scandinavians discussing the benefits of high taxation is a sight to behold. One stereotypically tall, blonde, attractive lady beamed and said, “I am glad to pay even more taxes if it means that we can help more people.” This is, of course, in stark contrast to the prevailing negativity towards taxes in most other countries. I have met Christians who have thought long and hard about taxes. Though they pay them, they would not if they could legally avoid…

The name Kodak was once synonymous with cameras and film. It was the brand to catch. But who would ever have predicted a time when a new generation would arrive that “have never heard of them”? Such is the nature of Brand names, it is a matter of: “stay relevant, or die!” Jerusalem was the centre of Israel’s world. And next to the Temple itself, the Sanhedrin was the high-power name that was forgotten at your peril. Far from Jerusalem,…

If a poll were taken amongst teenagers of their 10 favourite “old” hymns, I wonder what would make up that list? My guess is that all of them would be in the “Short and Up-beat” category. Even though Elizabeth C. Clephane’s 1868 hymn, “The Ninety and Nine” does not meet those criteria, what it lacks in pace, it makes up for in raw emotion. The writer skilfully weaves Jesus’ Parable of the Lost Sheep (Matthew 18:10-14) into a beautiful hymn…

Many years ago, I knew a man who was a skilled workman and an equally skilled storyteller. He framed and finished his stories with the same precision and beauty that he framed and finished his building projects. When he died, a friend of mine insisted that we travel to his funeral. It was a long way and since neither of us had reliable cars, he hired one at great personal expense. The funeral was sad, but our spirits were lifted…