Next Door Savior: Bringing Him nearer to your heart

What does it mean that Jesus was fully man, and fully God at the same time? This question is answered over and over in Max Lucado's book Next Door Savior. Through short, yet spiritually and emotionally powerful chapters, Lucado examines the essence of Christ's utter humanity, and simultaneous consummating divinity.

In expositions of Christ's life through examples from the Gospels, Lucado breaks down familiar stories and passages and reflects them through his own unique imagination. Like a tour guide, he brings the reader into the story and brings their attention to details they might have missed, explains historical background to better understand the people and places explored, and brings life to characters who mostly look flat and one-dimensional on page. In some circumstances, Lucado becomes a time-machine-translator in a way, by taking these biblical stories and placing them in contemporary contexts, trying to help modern-day readers easily relate to foreign situations.

At times, Lucado's use of such liberties with the Holy Word made me feel uncomfortable; who is he to think he can assume and imagine what was happening in the bible? It's fine for personal reflection, but to teach these assumptions to the mass public edged the line of liberality too closely for my comfort.

However, I cannot deny that Lucado has the power of exhortation, especially when he uses these emotionally rhetorical devices. Lucado's use of personal anecdotes, his understanding and sympathy for present-day spiritual and emotion afflictions, and his sensitivity to what our hearts crave most make Next Door Savior a deeply reflective book for any person to read.

For the non-believer, it is a good book to understand what it really means for Jesus to be fully man and fully God at the same time. For the searching believer, it is a great reminder of who and what it is exactly that you believe, and why. For the mature believer, it is an excellent book to re-look at certain stories of the bible in a new light, and reset the spiritual sensor of your heart.

All in all, I don't think you'll walk away from Next Door Savior disappointed, and will definitely bring the real next door Savior nearer to your heart.

The essence of travel

A street in Jamaica Plain, Boston

One of the best ways to explore and discover a new city, is to avoid the main attractions altogether. Get off the tour bus, strap on some comfortable shoes, and download a good map of the city onto your smartphone: it's time to see the city in a whole new light.

Don't get me wrong: the famous sights are popular for a good reason. But to really get a feel for the "essence" of a city, you need to walk on the well-treaded sidewalks of the business district, eat at the grungy little coffee shop across from the train station, and take a leisurely bike ride through a sleepy suburb. Then you can discover the true beat of the heart that pumps within a city.

The scariest thing about wandering aimlessly through an unknown town is the fear of getting lost. In fact, some of the best discoveries I've made in some of the different cities I've traveled to, were found by letting go of that constant need to be in control, and letting the crowded roads and rhythm of a busy town sweep me away.

Like the little Thai place that had the best green curry I've tasted, five miles away from the main Strip in Las Vegas; a misty pond resting in the stillness of a summer dawn deep in the hills of Malibu; a cozy vegetarian restaurant snuggled amongst other quaint restaurants deep in an alley of London; all were met through the openness of a curious mind and wandering feet.

The best thing about running away from tourist roads and trolling everyday streets, is discovering a world slightly familiar, yet so different from the one you call home. My sister and I took the "T" from Downtown to Jamaica Plain, a suburb of Boston on our visit last month. The narrow, sun-dappled roads,  pastel-colored homes, and whimsical spirit of the neighborhood reminded me of home, and yet was totally foreign to me. 

In travel, you can't help but compare your destination to the place you know best; the similar things spark a comforting familiarity; but the different things bring an awareness of the foreignness of this new city. This ambiguity is the essence of travel.

So, fellow netizens, heed my call: the next time you visit a new city, town, or country, try taking that small side road, instead of the main thoroughfare; you might find exactly what you were/were not looking for.