Afflictions

Siamese Twins Refuse Separation (illustration)

Siamese twins Margaret and Mary Gibb were not only accustomed to their affliction. They came to prefer it. As adults they refused even to discuss the possibility of separation. To them, such a move would have seemed no less than amputation of a major limb. In recent weeks their c …

How a Bar of Steel Can be Made Very Valuable (illustration)

A bar of steel worth $5.00 when made into ordinary horseshoes, is then worth $10.00. If this same $5.00 bar is manufactured into needles, the value rises to $350.00. And yet if it’s made into delicate springs for expensive watches, it is worth more than $250,000.00. The sam …

What Comes Out Under Pressure (illustration)

Think a moment about a water-saturated sponge. If we push down with our finger even slightly, water runs out onto the table. We immediately know what fills the interior pockets of the sponge. The same is true of ourselves. We can tell what fills us on the inside by what com …

Afflictions (illustration)

Bible scholar and author D. A. Carson tells of a time when he and a friend were going to the beach for some much-needed peace and quiet, but when they got there they found a horde of high school kids celebrating graduation with lots of beer, loud music and, shall we say, public d …