Author Archives: Great Peace Books

Modern relationships are a fickle thing. As a result, so is society’s understanding of Love. 

By strengthening my own relationship with Jesus, it has truly shown me what unconditional love means. We say it. Jesus lived it. 

I myself am married. My wife and I met when I was 16, she was 15. Sixteen or so years later, we now have built a life that we have always dreamed of together with our two amazing children. 

Our dating relationship was full of ups and downs, break ups and reunions. The type of thing that’s common for young couples. But as we got older and matured (mostly me needing the maturing) those things went away. As a result our relationship flourished. 

Marriage itself comes with its own complications. It’s two human beings attempting to act as one whole, each with separate roles. Roles that I will not be divulging in this post.

Instead I’m going to discuss what makes the way Jesus loves so different than ours. And in honor of my wife, I am going to tell it using a metaphor she herself is going to enjoy. 

When I say my wife is my best friend, I’m not being cliché. But like all husbands and wives, or best friends for that matter, we do not agree on everything. One of those things is my wife’s guilty pleasure, reality tv. One of her favorites is Netflix’s Love is Blind. 

For those of you who do not have to endure the pain of knowing these types of shows intimately…

Love is Blind is a dating show where contestants sign up to date and later potentially marry someone they have never met. Contestants get engaged after only ever talking and never seeing one another in person.

The premise of the show’s experiment is said to answer the question “is love truly blind?”.

To test this, contestants date in what is referred to as “the pods” where they cannot see each other. Essentially, they sit in separate rooms, divided by a wall. They can speak, but they cannot see each other.

In these pods, something interesting happens. People open up. They share their stories and they become vulnerable.

They share “their truth” about themselves not necessarily THE TRUTH. Not because they are intentionally lying, but because we all see ourselves through a distorted lens. We interpret reality through our own perspective. 

And in today’s world of social media, reality tv, etc. narcissistic tendencies of the way we see ourselves keep us blind to the truth about ourselves.

This is why so many relationships fall apart after the pods.

“They aren’t the same person I met in the Pods.”

Because the truth is, they never were. 

Dating, or what was once called courting, is traditionally set up in a way to truly get to know someone. And it takes longer than a few days or weeks. Real relationships aren’t built in isolation. They are built over time, through shared experiences. You don’t just hear someone’s version of reality, you live alongside it. You see it.

In a setting like the Pods you hear their side of reality. In the real world you get to experience it. And while the person you are dating may be a victim or hero in their own head in certain situations, you get to perceive things from these experiences and decide objectively your compatibility based on reality. 

As the show progresses, contestants narrow their connections until they choose someone to propose to.

Here the show reaches its most anticipated moment: the reveal. 

The couple see each other for the first time.

There have been multiple occasions in the show where you can almost see the flames of “Love” the couples have ignited from the Pods flicker, all from just the first glance at their partner. 

Not because the other person is unattractive. Most contestants are attractive by conventional standards.

But because the image they built in their mind doesn’t match reality.

Height, weight, muscle tone, jawline, hair, all the superficial things that make up physical attraction.

Because of the idea being they already know the person on the inside so well from their conversations in the Pods. That physical appearance is the last and should be least important piece of the experiment. 

This is rarely the case. Every season of the show, there is usually 1 or 2 couples that don’t make it due to either not finding their partner attractive. Or because they find someone else MORE attractive once they get to see the other couples. 

And that’s the problem.

The love they felt wasn’t grounded in truth. It was grounded in perception.

So when reality appears, the feeling changes.

This is the kind of love we are used to.

Conditional. Dependent on perception, preference, and experience.

The show is a reminder of the type of conditional love that exists in the world today. Whether the couples fail because of communication, appearances, or conflict. In a truly unconditional love those things don’t get overlooked they get resolved. They are confronted and worked through.

The show doesn’t prove that love is blind.

It proves that we are.

Human love isn’t blind.

Humans are. As the gospel often reminds us. 

But Jesus’ love is different.

Jesus’ love isn’t blind either, but not in the same way.

Because he sees us fully and loves us anyway.

He sees the parts of us we try to hide. The parts we justify. The parts we distort, even to ourselves. And still, He loves.

To mirror the show, prayer is our version of the pods. In prayer, we often present the best version of ourselves. We confess and make promises to be better. We feel changed and inspired because of our closeness to God in that moment.

But what happens when we leave the pods?

We fall short.

We become someone different than the person we were in prayer.

And Jesus does not say “You aren’t the same person that you were in prayer” and give up on us. He remains. Because He never loved a version of us we imagined. He loves us unconditionally as we truly are.

Also with Jesus there is no grand reveal. Nothing about us surprises Him. He doesn’t care what we look like. He doesn’t care about our past, our failures, or our weaknesses.

He sees all of us and does not withdraw.

He stays.

That is unconditional love.

Love is not blind.

We are.

And thankfully, Jesus is not.

The Man Who Joined the Rocks

Available on Kindle — $2.99

March 27, 2026

A team often reflects the character of its Coach. NFL Running back Raheem Mostert was recently on the Colin Cowherd show speaking about this very thing. He was on the Miami Dolphins from 2022-2024. He spoke about how former Dolphins Coach Mike McDaniel’s player-friendly attitude and lack of “grit” and authoritarian leadership hurt the character makeup of the team. 

Lions Coach Dan Campbell is the complete opposite coaching archetype of McDaniel. That isn’t to say Campbell isn’t a player friendly coach. As a former player himself he is able to relate to his team. He wears his heart on his sleeve; often getting emotional in press conferences and post game speeches, showing how much he loves his players. 

Despite those sentimental moments, Campbell is still both respected and feared in the locker room. At 6’6” and roughly 265 pounds, the man known as “Motor City Dan Campbell” (MCDC) often preaches one word to his team: GRIT. In an interview with the Sports Podcast Pardon My Take, Campbell defined Grit as 

“the ability to overcome adversity in any situation. The ability to push through (adversity) mentally and physically.”

And that is exactly what he has instilled in the team. Since taking over the Lions, Campbell has led the lowly franchise to their first ever NFC North Title (twice) and first ever NFC Championship game. 

If you watch any of his speeches to his team, it’s not hard to see how easy it is to stay motivated with Campbell as a Coach.

But despite having a master motivator and great coach like Campbell, the Lions still have their flaws. And while they did not make the playoffs this year, those are not the problems I am referring to. 

Last week, Lions 2024 1st round draft pick made headlines for allegedly being involved in a kidnapping/robbery incident. Allegedly the story goes Arnold and his friends took matters into their own hands after their AirBnB was robbed. Arnold’s lawyer claims he did not participate in nor was present for any of the alleged conduct.

The question is, how does a player on a team known for resiliency, mental toughness, and accountability end up in a situation like this? That’s what Campbell preaches. Right? And players are reflections of their coaches? 

This happens to us as Christians as well.

We too have a great Coach. The GREATEST Coach, Jesus Christ. What other Coach loves his players so much He would serve their suspension? Christ died for his Players. He motivates his players. He provides us with a playbook built to guide us through anything life throws at us. 

In my last post, Dear Protesters, Jesus is Not Your Mascot, I talked about how People often structure their own concept of who Jesus was to fit their own ideology. 

But Jesus IS who He IS. Not who we want him to be. He is the one Coach His players can never truly live up to. We will never be able to truly live like Christ, as he is perfect and we are sinners. But as Christians it’s our job to do our best to show the world what Christ our Coach, our God, is all about. And not just with words but action. To be the best example of Him to the world as we can be. 

The best way to do that is to keep him close. It is not Jesus who walks away from us. But us who walks away from him. 

Like the NFL player that gets in trouble in the offseason away from their Coach who tries to keep them on the right path.

We Christians find ourselves in deep waters of our own doing when we are not disciplined in Prayer, Worship, and Obedience. Not to say there is a way to do everything right and your life will be perfect as long as you are a good little Christian. The Bible tells us that is not true. 

But if we followed Jesus just for transactional comfort that wouldn’t be real devotion. And that’s what separates him from being just another coach.

We don’t follow him just because we believe he will lead us to the Super Bowl. We acknowledge he created the Game and He loved us enough to give us a chance to play. 

So study your playbooks, and keep your Coach’s words close to your mind and heart. 

Because the game isn’t just played on Sundays. It’s played every day you step out onto the field, we call the world. 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.”

Proverbs 3:5 NLT

This verse is usually attributed to Solomon, believed to be speaking to his child(ren). It was not later recorded as being spoke by Jesus, who Himself does say mirroring verses comforting His followers in times when they are anxious and troubled. Nonetheless, what Solomon said is still good fatherly advice.

It’s actually more than good. It’s great advice, putting our trust in God, and God alone.

In studying this, I was less interested in the ways I’ve already seen this verse applied, to those questioning the loss of a loved one, or those who are troubled in thought.

I was more curious about how this applies to Christians studying the Bible. As Christians, we know to trust God fully. But I think far too often we put our own will and understanding into the equation along with God’s. Some may think that is what I’m doing now. I would disagree, because I’m claiming no authority for this to be a universal truth. But if by merely contemplating I risk leaning on my own understanding and mixing it with God’s will, it only makes what I’m saying more true. 

I think this verse can be used as a warning for Christians against their religion inviting the elevation of human reasoning to divine authority. What happens when you begin following a religion and not practicing discipleship of Christ? I’m not claiming this warning could be against study, theology, or reason, but against confusing our conclusions about God with God Himself.

All across the spectrum of Christian denominations and those adjacent that call themselves followers of Christ, we see it. Where we take biblical text, words from Jesus, His disciples, saints, etc., and go beyond the logic and context and start speculating from the point of our own understanding.

Now, I’m not saying what the followers of these practices are doing is wrong. Again, I don’t have any authority to say that, or I too would be guilty if I said my knowledge proves I know the way. I know no other way but Jesus. So if someone disagrees with how I view this or something else, I would take the criticism without reservation and simply ask them to point to me in the Bible where I am wrong.

But as for the religions themselves, I do see this as an issue of this warning, if that’s how one is going to interpret it, being that they all have gone beyond the point of speculation and turned ideas apart from the Word into required doctrine. Because from what I’ve read, it is not dangerous in itself to speculate on the Word, but it can be very dangerous to attempt to call that speculation truth.

To go deeper, and to the VERY EXTREME, isn’t that the danger we see with the rise of Islam? Muhammad, not Christian, but took from his own understanding of Judaism and Christ’s teaching, claiming divine authority and inspiration even though it deviated from the idea of a Judeo-Christian God. This created a whole new religion and a whole new belief in the region, and now the world. Again, this point is not to equate Christian theological disagreement with Islam, but to illustrate the extreme end of what happens when religious speculation claims divine authority.

I think it highlights the dangers of going beyond what we are supposed to know, are required to know, or are supposed to be seeking.

Not to pick on the Catholic Church, but I think their 2,000-year history can take it. The idea of purgatory is required dogma, developed after hundreds of years of speculation of Scripture. Its influence usually bears claim from St. Augustine, who often philosophized on the afterlife but who himself stated he had no authority on the subject and that his idea of an intermediate state was merely speculation. But we, as humans, seek and require knowledge and demand answers. I’d argue, what does it matter where our souls go before Jesus calls us home, if we believe He will indeed call us home? That’s trusting the Lord.

Catholicism is simply a clear historical example of this human tendency, not a unique offender.

Many denominations have taken similar ideas from apostles, saints, and religious leaders who would all speak outside the Bible. Most of them saying the same thing when stating their opinion, that it was just that, speculation, and usually prefacing it if it was not taught to them directly from Jesus. Yet somehow, it still ends up in doctrines.

I feel like Proverbs 3:5 can be applied well as a warning of biblical restraint, and not constructing God from your reasoning. Receive Him as He reveals Himself. And as Christians, we can agree He reveals Himself through the Word.

If you’re from my hometown, or someone else who knew me in the past, it might be a shock to see me writing this.

I may have gone to school with you, or with your siblings, your kids, or your grandkids. If you were sharing a meal with someone who knew me between the ages of fifteen and twenty-two and told them I’d one day be publicly writing about my faith, you might want to step back first because they’d probably spit out their drink in disbelief.

I was not the obvious candidate for this story.

But God has never required obvious candidates.

I was raised in a Christian household. My family attended Oxford Community Church, a place filled with good people, strong community, meaningful worship, and faithful teaching. Pastor Hayword led great services, and I had the privilege of growing up with excellent kids’ ministry and youth group programs.

That season ended around the time I entered high school.

Later, my family began attending Lake Louise Church of the Nazarene in Ortonville, where I met Pastor Gerber. His preaching connected with me in a way I hadn’t experienced before, and honestly, still hasn’t been matched.

One message in particular stuck with me:

“Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than sleeping in your garage makes you a car.”

A line like that could be twisted into a reason to stop going to church altogether.  But when you think about it, getting up and giving God one morning of our week is really the LEAST of what we can do. Being a Christian is far more than attending a place of gathering, but it’s a good place for them to be.

To be like something, you must be shaped by the same source, sustained by the same power, and directed toward the same purpose. To be a Christian, then, is to live toward the purpose of Christ. And the Lord has called us to far more than simply showing up to church once a week.

Now, to be fair, those were the sermons I stayed awake for. My parents would get frustrated with how often I drifted off, but looking back, I think they were mostly just thankful I was there with them on Sundays at all.

Even so, growing up in a Christian home planted something deep inside me.

When I was ten years old, I made what I still consider the most important decision of my life: I was baptized at the old Christ the King Church by my youth pastor.

And even when I grew older and began living far too much for the world…

Even when my decisions were reckless, my mouth was careless, and when my priorities were wrong.

I knew, somewhere beneath the noise, that the Holy Spirit was never far from me.

I don’t have what many would call an “incredible” testimony.

My favorite author, C.S. Lewis, wrote an entire book, Surprised by Joy, chronicling his journey from atheism to Christianity. Lewis, one of the greatest writers of the his era and one of the most influential Christian apologists in history, described his conversion in a single, almost anticlimactic sentence:

“When we set out I did not believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, but when we reached the zoo I did.”

That was it.

No lightning bolt.

No dramatic vision.

No emotional spectacle.

He was criticized for it by his peers. That’s it? That’s your grand convincing conversion?

But I think Lewis understood something deeply important:

A person’s encounter with the living God cannot truly be explained. It must be experienced.

Whether a story is dramatic or subtle, loud or quiet, sudden or slow, it can never be dull, because every true conversion involves the same miracle:

A revelation from the Almighty Creator.

For me, change did not arrive as an explosion.

It arrived as a quiet pull.

I began feeling a desire to read Scripture and not out of obligation, but out of hunger.

I was getting older. I was maturing. I had become a husband. A father.

And I wanted to become the kind of man worthy of the blessings God had entrusted to me.

I bought a Life Application Study Bible.

My wife bought me a journal.

I started a 365-day Bible reading plan and did my best to stick to it.

Then one night, a night I remember clearly because it is marked in my journal, after my wife and children were asleep, I finished that day’s reading and stayed in prayer.

I was thinking about the words I had read.

Meditating on them and letting them sit.

And in my mind’s eye, I pictured Jesus on the cross.

I had seen that image countless times before.

But this time, something was different.

For the first time in my life, I truly saw who He was.

I had always believed Jesus was the Son of God.

I knew John 3:16.

I understood, intellectually, that God gave His Son as a sacrifice.

But that night, I saw the cross through the reality of the Trinity.

I did not only see God’s Son.

I saw Jesus who said, “Before Abraham was, I AM.”

I saw God the Son.

Not a representative or a symbol.

Not merely a messenger.

God Himself.

Hanging there.

For me.

And it broke me open.

That was my true change-of-heart moment. The moment I stopped seeing Jesus merely as a concept and began seeing Him as God the Son who chose the cross.

Not because He had to. But because He loved me.

I did not become perfect after that moment. And I am not perfect now. But something in me has remained permanently altered.

My heart.

That moment is what eventually led me to write. Not because I think I have special insight or I think my story is extraordinary. But because I want to share what real change looks like.

Not surface-level behavior modification.

Not moral polishing. But repentance.

A turning of the heart and reorientation of love.

Christianity is not about becoming impressive and it is not about earning salvation..

It is about becoming honest and receiving grace.

And when grace is truly received, it inevitably changes the person who receives it.

Quietly. Steadily. Irreversibly.

If you’re reading this and you feel behind…

If your story feels unimpressive…

If your faith feels small…

If your change feels slow…

Take heart.

He is not impressed by theatrics.

He is drawing hearts.

Sometimes with thunder.

Sometimes with whispers.

Mine was a whisper. But it was enough.

And it still is.