essays

[Today's Christian, July-August 2003]

Will I Be Married in Heaven?

Q. Since the recent death of my wife, a godly "Proverbs 31" woman, I have been wondering if our marriage will continue in heaven. --John R., via e-mail

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[Today's Christian, July-August 2003]

He doesn't have a hookup to the Internet in his home. He doesn't have cable TV. "That's just inviting problems," he explains. He loves his parents and they're welcome to visit, but "we can't really have our son stay at my parents' house" because occasionally they don't watch their language. "Not in front of my child," he says. By the way, Christopher is three years old. "I pray my son will go the right way," says his gentle, worried dad.

Sound like a cave-dwelling Christian, hiding from the evil world? No, Matthew Luhn is a computer-whiz Christian

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[Beliefnet, June 2003]

The bridal season is in full swing, and many of us have already clutched more little plastic champagne stems than we can count. As I look back over my own 29 years of marriage-most of them years as a pastor's wife, with the unique perspective that gives on other people's marriages-there are two mistakes I think a new couple can make. The first is to take marriage too seriously. The second is to fail to take it seriously enough.

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[Our Sunday Visitor, July 20, 2003]

Spellbound

Last month the movie buzz was about "The Matrix Reloaded" and its "What is reality?" theme. Joke's on us, because movies are inherently unreal. From the time you step into that darkened auditorium, you're a guest of Tinsel Town.

But there's another kind of movie which sets out to challenge this assumption. Documentaries are based on the irrefutable premise that film can capture reality more truly than any other art form. The 1922 silent, "Nanook of the North" set an early high standard. It depicted the harshness of Alaskan life with such directness that reporters flocked to the tundra to interview the star. Too late: he had perished, starving to death on an ice floe. That's reality, brother.

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[Beliefnet, June 2003]

The topic "Jesus and Women" calls forth such a varied cast of characters that it's hard to focus on just one of them. At the forefront is his mother, of course, followed swiftly by the many young, vigorous women who served or questioned him, who were healed or protected by him. Far in the back of the crowd there is a nameless woman who is easy to miss. She is bent double with pain.

Jesus heals her, but she doesn't get to be the center of attention long.

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[Our Sunday Visitor, May 27, 2003]

Finding Nemo

You probably don't need any encouragement from me to see Pixar animation studio's new feature, "Finding Nemo." If you have kids in the house, they have been clamoring about it for weeks. You can't turn on a TV without seeing the dazzling colorful ads. You can't go to the store without passing mounds of Nemo plush toys. If you huddled on the floor with your arms crossed over your head, someone would still shove Nemo fast-food coupons under the door.

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