ODJ: a chance
How could anyone abandon their baby?” my friend asked. We had just heard another sad account of an infant being discovered in a public restroom. This story, at least, had a happy ending—the baby was okay.Most of us can’t put ourselves in the shoes of a mother who abandons her baby. Surely, though, a key factor must have been the overwhelming sense of desperation and loneliness sh
ODJ: a revelation of intimacy
In December 2014 the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met LeBron James, the most famous basketball player in America. Despite the fact that one of his nicknames is ‘King James’, he is in fact not royalty, and protocol demanded that he should not touch the Duke or Duchess. Not knowing this, LeBron put his arm around the couple and posed for a photograph. This was a shocking break in decoru
ODJ: hard things
South Africa’s electrical grid has long been stretched, but when a coal silo at a power station collapsed, it led to months of widespread blackouts across the country. The power outages were initially frustrating, but citizens quickly adapted to the daily 2 hour blackouts and worked around those times. Generators were employed, people bought fewer perishable foods and they were careful to
ODJ: blessing what God blesses
In 2014, something called the Multidimensional Poverty Index helped researchers determine that there are 1.6 billion poor people on earth! When you read through Scripture, it soon becomes clear that God has always had a particular concern for the poor, the forgotten and the vulnerable (Deuteronomy 10:18, 15:11). And when Jesus spoke His Sermon on the Mount, it’s not surprising that He first
ODJ: behold the plains
If there be any value in scaling the mountains, it is only that from them one can behold the plains.”Those sentiments resonate. I’ve climbed some mountains during my lifetime—some real and some metaphorical. Pressing on ever higher can be hard and lead to suffering. But at the peak we can catch a view of what’s been hidden, a beauty that’s now made plain. There we c
ODJ: content where we are
We’ve heard the stories: a man leaves his wife of many years for a woman he has met at work—disorienting and disillusioning his family.A woman turns from her husband, opting for the man she connected with online, leaving her family heartbroken and bewildered.A couple, pillars of their local church, suddenly bolt to join a new fellowship that just opened its doors—prompting their
ODJ: the father’s love
Wanda was a 20 year old who was living at home but had no real responsibilities. She had a job with a decent income and spent her free time hanging out with friends. All of that collapsed when she became pregnant.Broken and scared, Wanda dreaded the thought of telling her parents. What would they think of her? Would they still love her? But when she could no longer hide the signs of the little lif
ODJ: u-turn
Leslie Newbigin, a missionary in India, tells the story of his visit to a village in the Madras diocese. The village had prepared music, fireworks, garlands, fruit and dancing to welcome him. The congregation had presumed that he would come by the southern route, but Newbigin entered the village from the north. When the congregation found out, they quickly ran to welcome him. What a beautif
ODJ: first
Seemingly unaware of leaflets littering the pavement and placards dotting the corners of the road junctions, the pedestrians around me continued their normal pace of life on this national election weekend. As a foreigner, I saw a distinct similarity between the smiling faces of the candidates staring from their two-dimensional advertisements and those from my home country. All promised change