Signs of the Times April 2025

Love

BEFORE TIME BEGAN a christian perspective on the world today

In this issue April 2025

WHAT IN THE WORLD 04 JUST THE SON OF A TRADIE? 06 Who is Jesus, really?

GOD DOESN’T WANT YOUR MONEY 12 So why do so many churches make it the main thing?

LIFE BEYOND THE CUP 18 Do you really want to live forever?

LIVING IN THE MOMENT: THE STRUGGLE WE DON’T TALK ABOUT 24 It’s hard to be present—but it could be vital.

LOVE BEFORE TIME BEGAN

WHEN YOUR CHILD HAS A MELTDOWN 30

PAGE 32

ASK PASTOR JESSE 44

Love always overcomes.

How to regulate your child’s emotions.

Are hurricanes because God is angry?

THE MELDING MOMENT 46 The most important relationship you’ll ever have.

HANDS SERVING, HEARTS GROWING 52 How one local church is changing their community.

GOD’S WORD: IMMUTABLE, RELIABLE, UNSTOPPABLE 54 The greatest book the world has ever known.

PANDEMICS AND THE PROBLEM OF PAIN From Covid-19 to 28 Months Later.

HOW TO LOVE YOUR LEFTOVERS 60 Don’t let them rot away!

SUDOKU AND CROSSWORD PUZZLE 62

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@SIGNSMAG

The problem with the cross The Appian Way stretches for almost 700 kilometres in length and connects Rome to the south of Italy. Built in 312 BC, like many Roman infrastructure projects, it can still be visited today and is a pleasant road for tourists and history lovers alike. But in 71 BC, it was the sight of the most horrific and terrible suffering.

Just two years earlier, a slave revolt, led by the famous Spartacus, had broken out in Italy. At the time, onethird of those living in Italy were slaves. At its height, the revolt swelled to around 70,000 people. Though it initially had military success, at the Battle of the Silarius River, Spartacus was (reportedly) killed and his rebellion was crushed. In the aftermath, more than 6000 rebel slaves were crucified along the 200-kilometre stretch of road between Rome and Capua, where the revolt began.

It’s inconceivable for us to fully appreciate the horror and humiliation of the Roman cross—much less comprehend the scale of suffering as Spartacus’s rebels experienced. Certainly, the early Christians understood crucifixion better than us. One of the earliest depictions of Jesus is the Alexamenos graffito. It depicts two figures, one with the head of a donkey, arms stretched out in a cross, with the caption “Alexamenos worships his god”. The apostle Paul called the cross a “a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles” (1 Corinthians 1:23). The cross was not something to be proud of in the ancient world, and yet today, its meaning has totally inverted. Today, it is a symbol of hope, love and sacrifice.

In the strangest twist, what was once the symbol of humiliation and death has become a symbol of victory and life. As we draw near to Easter, I’d invite you to consider the cross— and more importantly, the Man who died on it 2000 years ago—all so you could experience life, and life abundantly.

JESSE HERFORD Associate Editor

VOL 139 NO 3

ISSN 1038-9733 EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER Brad Kemp EDITOR Jarrod Stackelroth ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jesse Herford ASSISTANT EDITOR Zanita Fletcher COPYEDITORS Melody Tan Tracey Bridcutt GRAPHIC DESIGN Theodora Pau’u Talia Valderrama PHONE +61 2 9847 2222 EMAIL info@signsmag.com WEBSITE signsmag.com ADDRESS Adventist Media PO Box 1115, Wahroonga New South Wales 2076 SUBSCRIPTIONS Kelli Geelan PHONE +61 3 5965 6300 Australia/New Zealand, $A28/$NZ30; South Pacific countries, $A41; Other countries $A51 Published since 1886, Signs of the Times is printed 11 times a year by the Seventh-day Adventist Church and is registered as a periodical.

Seventh-day Adventist Church (SPD) Limited ABN 59 093 117 689 NOTE The inclusion of a person or their image within does not imply their endorsement of the Seventh-day Adventist Church or its beliefs.

Unless otherwise stated, Bible verses are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, Anglicised.

Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc®. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton. All rights reserved worldwide.

COVER IMAGE: Robtoz—Getty Images

WHAT IN THE WORLD The first 1000 days of life A recent study in the Cook Islands revealed that 80 per cent of children under 15 have poor oral health or are showing early signs of noncommunicable diseases.

Health officials in the Cook Islands are taking steps to improve the nation’s youngest citizens’ health, turning their focus to the critical first 1000 days of a child’s life. Health secretary Bob Williams said healthier babies equals healthier adults and is promoting better nutrition, maternity care, postnatal care and breastfeeding education.

—Radio New Zealand

When you exercise matters GERMANY

Early morning and evening activity could help cut bowel cancer risk by 11 per cent. A German-led study used data from the UK Biobank to assess over 86,000 people aged 52 to 79, who tracked their exercise with a wearable device. During the five-year study there were 529 cases of bowel cancer.

They found two daily peaks in activity, around 8am and 6pm, was associated with reduced colorectal cancer risks.

Experts agree that the timing of peak activity could play a crucial role in preventing cancer.—Medical News 4

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COTTONRBO, MASTERCOWLY, MAXRAVIER, RECEPTCELIK—PEXELS.COM BRISBANE LOCAL MAEKETING—UNSPLASH

COOK ISLANDS

Escaping the beach blueys AUSTRALIA

Technology has made it easy to plan for the perfect beach day with weather apps, beach apps and surf cams. Currently, scientists from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) are working on technology that can predict where and when blue bottles will wash ashore. This is done using wind and swell forecasts, knowledge of the creature’s anatomy and tricky oceanography maths. Still in its testing phase, the plan is to include the prediction tool in apps for Australia’s next summer.—UNSW

Predicting wildfires with AI UNITED STATES

Researchers have developed a new method to accurately predict wildfire spread. The model uses satellite data to track progression in real time, then feeds this information to a sophisticated computer algorithm that can forecast the fire’s likely path, intensity and growth rate. The study comes after California grappled with severe wildfires in the first few months of 2025.—USC Today

Most congested cities AUSTRALIA

Brisbane is one of the major business hubs in Australia and one of the country’s fastest-growing economies.

As a result, it has climbed the world ranks and is now the 10th most congested city in the world, where on average drivers lost 84 hours in traffic in 2024 (almost 20 hours more than Sydney, which ranked 21st). The worst city in the world for traffic congestion is Istanbul, followed by Mexico City, New York and London.

—The Guardian APRIL 2025 • SIGNSMAG.COM

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Just the son of a tradie?

How did the humble son of a tradie go on to become the most influential figure in history?

JUSTIN BONE

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MIDJOURNEY

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B

y the time you finish reading this article—assuming you read the whole thing—approximately 1350 babies will have been born—or, 267 per minute. By the time today is over, around 385,000 babies will have come into the world.1 When I was born, it happened to be the young doctor’s first delivery. By all accounts, he was so pleased with himself that he declared I was such a special baby that I was bound to be the prime minister of Australia! Aside from forgetting my mother had done the lion’s share of the work, his hopes for my life still haven’t come true.

Among so many thousands of babies born every day, the odds I would be prime minister are vanishingly small.

The likelihood that any one of us would have an impact on a national level is tiny—but not impossible.

There are a handful of babies who go on to have a global impact. Most of the names I can think of are all from the past 100 years or so. However, the child who had the greatest impact on human history without any overstatement would be Jesus.

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dirty nappies

It’s odd to think of Jesus as a child, or even as a baby. Nevertheless, He was. We are told He was born in the shed out the back of a motel—certainly not an auspicious start to life.

Anyone watching wouldn’t predict greatness from this low-born Baby.

Jesus certainly wasn’t a child prodigy.

He was just an average Kid born in a small Judean town to working class parents. His dad was a tradie and He had a stay-at-home mum. His upbringing could describe many of us. It certainly reminds me of my own childhood.

That includes the time I got lost at the Broken Hill Show. I had wandered off, following some shiny thing and found myself amongst strangers, So, I did what most kids would do—I cried until an adult did something. They read my name out over the speaker and soon my parents came to find me. Imagine my astonishment when I read that Jesus as a child was so ordinary that He also got separated from His parents!

found in the temple

After the family had been in Jerusalem for a festival, “the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it” (Luke 2:43). They searched for Him for three days, not having access to a loudspeaker, eventually finding Him in the temple. When they found Him, He was doing something remarkable, something they didn’t expect—Jesus was teaching the teachers! “Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers” (Luke 2:47). When His parents asked why He had done this, He said, “Why were you searching for me?” He asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49).

Honestly, I wouldn’t have gotten away with talking back to my parents like that. We don’t know how Mary or Joseph reacted—aside from the fact that “they did not understand what he was saying to them” (Luke 2:50).

This is what sets Jesus apart from me—and everyone else in history. Though my doctor prophesied I would be prime minister,

before Jesus was born, we are told His mother Mary was visited by a messenger from God and was told that her Son would be special: “So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).

Mary was to give birth to the Son of God. Talk about high expectations!

But Jesus’ words in the temple were a reminder that He was that Son, and that His life was going to be very different. It wouldn’t happen for decades, though. He was Jesus, Joseph’s Son, the Son of a tradie. It’s likely His father Joseph taught Him the family business, that He worked with His hands alongside His dad. Then when Jesus was about 30 years of age (Luke 3:23), He was baptised in public and began His public ministry. That in itself wasn’t that unusual. What was unusual was what happened next.

miracles on miracles

Jesus attended a wedding and performed His first miracle: He transformed water into the most extraordinary wine. Then Jesus started healing people and when they were healed, they stayed well.

He could heal things that no doctors could, including leprosy. We are told “the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses” (Luke 5:15). While Jesus healed people, He told them about the kingdom of God and that they were welcome in it. He healed the blind, the lame—even those who had died were brought back to life.

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FRANK ALCARCON—UNSPLASH

“Why were you searching for me?” he asked.

“Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”

(Luke 2:49).

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Huge crowds followed Him. What He was doing began reminding some of the ancient old prophecies of the long-awaited Messiah: “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped” (Isaiah 35:5). Jesus drew a group of followers around Him to help Him in His work and for three-and-a-half years, He travelled around Israel sharing the news of His Father’s kingdom.

This message caused some consternation for the ruling Romans.

They didn’t like this talk of other kingdoms as they believed theirs was perfectly fine. Soon, in concert with the leading religious figures, a plan was formed to put a stop to Jesus and His ministry—in the way that only the Roman empire could.

one-in-a-billion

But the remarkable thing is that Jesus not only knew about this plan— but was anticipating it. Predictably, He was arrested, convicted and put to death on a Roman cross. Now, for the truly remarkable twist.

For any other person, this would be the end of the story. But not for Jesus. He knew that through His death, He would have ultimate victory over death and evil. Witnesses attest to the tomb being opened, to Jesus’ body being missing and more, to Jesus being alive again. “He is not here; he has risen!” (Luke 24:6). This is what sets Jesus apart from every other name in history. No-one else has predicted their own death and resurrection—and pulled it off. But 10

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for me, some of the most convincing arguments about the resurrection of Jesus come from the way those closest to Him were changed by it. His disciples hid out of fear they would be killed as well, but Jesus went to them and showed them He was still alive. “He told them, ‘This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day’” (Luke 24:46).

From that moment, rather than hiding away or running, the disciples acted boldly, many of them holding to the truth of a resurrected Jesus even to the point of losing their own lives.

They didn’t shake their heads and disavow Jesus—what they saw made them firmer in their belief, and while Jesus only ever lived and ministered in Israel, soon the incredible truth that the Son of God Himself had come to save us spread across the globe like wildfire. More than 2000 years later, Christianity is still the largest religion in the world—all because of the truth of the resurrection.

Not bad for a tradie’s Boy from Bethlehem, hey?

Justin Bone supports and trains pastors and congregations around Victoria, Australia, for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He is passionate about helping people understand the Bible better.

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money

The Church often gets a bad rap for being moneyhungry and to be fair, much of it is well-deserved.

But does God really need your money and if not, what is giving really all about?

DR KEN LONG APRIL 2025 • SIGNSMAG.COM

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W

e’ve all seen it before: the collection plate passed around at church, the fundraising drives, the appeals from religious organisations. For many people—especially those who don’t regularly attend church—this can feel like a demand, a guilt trip or even a transaction. It’s easy to assume that churches are all about money.

After all, how else would they keep the lights on, pay their staff and finance their projects? But here’s the truth that might surprise you: God doesn’t need your money. Not a cent. Any church worth its salt will admit this.

This might sound strange coming from someone who works closely with churches.

But let me pull back the curtain a little: the idea that God needs your money—or that giving is primarily about funding religious institutions—is a misunderstanding. Instead, the act of giving has a deeper, more personal significance. And frankly, it’s not about God’s benefit or the church’s benefit.

It’s about yours.

If God is, by definition, the Creator of all things, then everything already belongs to Him. That includes the money in your wallet, the resources we draw from the earth and even our ability to earn a living in the first place. Whether or not you believe in God, there’s an important principle you need to know: the universe operates on abundance. The air we breathe, the water we drink, the opportunities we encounter—they’re all gifts, not commodities we can hoard or control.

This perspective flips the script on how we think about giving. If God—or the universe for that matter— doesn’t need our money, why do churches ask for it? And why should we give?

God doesn’t need your money. Not a cent. Any church worth its salt will admit this.

If you think about it, the idea of a higher power needing anything from us doesn’t make much sense.

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Here’s the kicker: giving isn’t about the recipient. It’s about the giver. It’s about us. At its core, giving reflects who we are and what we value. It’s an act of generosity that connects us to others and reminds us that we’re part of something bigger than ourselves.

When we give, we’re saying, “I trust that there’s enough to go around. I believe in supporting others. I want to contribute to a better world.” This mindset can be transformative.

Think about the satisfaction that

COTTONBRO—PEXELS

God doesn’t need anything

the real reason for giving

comes from helping a friend in need, donating to a cause you care about or surprising someone with an unexpected gift. That joy isn’t accidental—it’s hardwired into us. Numerous studies have shown that generosity boosts happiness, reduces stress and even improves our physical health.

When we give, we’re not just helping others—we’re enriching our own lives as well.

the problem with transactional giving

Unfortunately, the way giving is often framed—especially in religious contexts—can feel transactional.

It’s easy to think of it as a duty, a requirement or even a way to buy favour with God or the church. But this misses the point entirely. True generosity isn’t about obligation; it’s about freedom. It’s not about checking a box or fulfilling a quota; it’s about cultivating a spirit of abundance and gratitude.

Here’s where some churches get it wrong: when they focus too much on the need for money, they risk alienating people and distorting the purpose of giving. The truth is, if a church is pressuring you to give purely to fund their operations or expand their programs, they’ve lost sight of the bigger picture. Giving isn’t about keeping the institution afloat. It’s about creating a culture of generosity that benefits everyone— inside the church and out.

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generosity is a universal value

You don’t have to be religious to appreciate the power of generosity. In every culture and tradition, giving is celebrated as a virtue. From ancient philosophies to modern psychology, the message is the same: we’re at our best when we look beyond ourselves and contribute to the wellbeing of others. In fact, one of the best ways to understand the value of giving is to think of it as an investment—not in financial terms, but in human terms. When you give, you’re investing in relationships, communities and causes that matter.

You’re saying, “I believe in this and I want to be part of it.” That’s a powerful statement, whether you’re religious or not.

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why churches ask for money

So, if God doesn’t need our money, why do churches ask for it? The answer is twofold. First, like any organisation, churches have practical needs. They have bills to pay, staff to support and programs to run. But, secondly, and more importantly, churches ask for money as a way to invite people into the practice of giving. It’s not about the amount; it’s about the mindset. By giving, we acknowledge that our resources— whether financial, emotional or physical—aren’t just for us. They’re meant to be shared. As God told Abraham, “We are blessed to be a blessing.”

When this principle is applied correctly, it can be transformative— not just for the church, but for the

what happens when we give

Here’s another little secret: when we give, we often get more in return than we expect. That’s not to say we should give with the expectation of a reward—far from it. But generosity has a way of coming full circle. It builds trust, deepens relationships, and creates a sense of purpose and connection. For example, when you donate to a cause you care about, you’re not just giving money—you’re aligning yourself with something bigger than yourself. You’re saying, “I want to be part of this solution.” And that sense of purpose is invaluable.

Similarly, when you give within a community—whether it’s a church, a neighbourhood or a social group— you’re strengthening the bonds that hold that community together. You’re contributing to a culture of care and support that benefits everyone involved.

giving as a practice

Ultimately, giving is more than just a one-time act. It’s a practice—a habit that shapes how we see the world and our place in it. By making generosity a regular part of our lives, we train ourselves to think in terms of abundance rather than scarcity.

We remind ourselves that there’s

enough to go around and that we have the power to make a difference in the lives of those we help or support.

This doesn’t mean you have to give large sums of money or donate to every cause that comes your way.

Generosity can take many forms: volunteering your time, sharing your skills or simply being present for someone who needs support. The key is to approach life with an open hand and an open heart. When we give freely, without expectation or obligation, we tap into something profound. We acknowledge our interconnectedness, embrace a mindset of abundance, and contribute to a world that’s kinder, fairer and more compassionate.

So, here’s the bottom line: God doesn’t need your money. The universe doesn’t need your money.

But you might need to give—not because someone else demands it, but because generosity has the power to change you. Whether you’re religious or not, that’s something worth striving for. Because in the end, the act of giving isn’t about what we lose—it’s about what we gain.

Dr Ken Long is a business consultant and Christian writer. He has authored The Giving Equation, The Model Steward Canvas and The Model Steward Canvas Workbook.

SHKRABAANTHONY—PEXELS

broader community. A church that understands this isn’t just asking for money; it’s creating opportunities for people to experience the joy of generosity and to make a meaningful impact.

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LIFE BEYOND the CUP The human obsession with living forever is nothing new.

Perhaps the answer is living with eternity in mind.

ASHLEY JANKIEWICZ

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WWW.KAYLABARNES.COM

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K

ayla Barnes-Lentz and Warren Lentz, known to the internet as the “biohacker” couple, are determined to live until at least 150 years of age. They have a vigorous schedule, including pulsed electromagnetic field therapy and spending time in their hyperbaric chamber.

Their journey may sound excessive and expensive, but it follows the path of many who wish to slow the ageing process. Those who have the funds, mainly million and billionaires, are seemingly obsessed with expensive anti-ageing therapies and longevity drugs. The rest of us fall prey to the promises of those on social media who fill our feed with secrets on how to look young—Botox, wonder drugs, natural remedies and more.

This isn’t just a problem of the age of the internet either. For thousands of years, we have told stories of mortals who have achieved immortality, of intrepid trailblazers who have gone on journeys to find the fountain of youth that they may live forever.

It is apparent that as humans, we simply cannot accept the thought of our lives ending.

the innocence of youth

As children, we don’t think about these things. We don’t worry about death or what we are going to do in the future. Every possibility seems open. I wanted to be a ballet dancer— it seemed like the perfect career at age four. Ask any kindergarten class and you’re bound to find at least one astronaut, one fighter pilot, several 20

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doctors and much more.

But what seemed easy as a child becomes difficult as we get older. We realise the time, effort and money that go into dreams. Doors are shut in our faces, we receive rejection letters, loans are denied and soon we’ve decided that the moon is too far away—and we’d better settle for something within our atmosphere.

As a young person, it can be difficult to realise that not everything I dreamed of doing can come true.

Some dreams naturally evaporate, while letting go of others are more painful. It’s frustrating to hear the voices from all sides telling me that these are the best years of my life and that I’m only young once. I feel as though I must do everything now and make the most of it while I can, because if not, I’ll have regrets. I

facing down death

I was discussing this with a friend recently, who recounted her granddad’s story. Diagnosed with an autoimmune disease 25 years ago and given only several years to live, he was struggling with these very thoughts: that he was running out of time, had not fulfilled his dreams and had not done everything he wanted to do. One night, he dreamed that he was holding a cup of water in his hands. The water represented his life and it was leaking out of the cup and between his fingers. He watched in utter despair as time trickled out of reach. Then he heard a voice that said, “Look up.” He did, and saw he was standing on the shore of a vast ocean. Instantly, he was filled with peace, instinctively knowing that that ocean represented eternity,

WWW.KAYLABARNES.COM

worry that I’m not taking advantage of all the opportunities that come my way—but I’m also just trying to make enough money to pay my rent in Sydney. Many might think I’m too young to think about the finiteness of life but as I’ve entered adulthood, I’ve realised that time is our biggest affliction. The clock ticks away, second by second, and we age.

I’ve had many conversations with elderly people in recent years. I’ve watched their tears as they struggle with the knowledge that they may never see a loved one or their homeland again, or simply because they are no longer as full of life as they once were. Some live with painful regrets, while others have none. Some cannot reconcile with their lives ending, while others are at peace. What makes the difference?

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promised to him by Jesus. My friend’s granddad is still alive, but it doesn’t matter if or when the water in his cup ends—he has a vast ocean of life awaiting him. As do we all.

If you don’t believe in heaven or the afterlife, then this life can seem hopeless. We’re born, we struggle, we may have some happy moments, but then water trickles out of our cups and that’s it. Not to diminish the beautiful lives we can lead, but no-one can say they are without difficulties, nor that they have not considered their incredible fragility.

However, the Bible tells us that we are not bound by a hundred years, outlining that death is like sleep, and once awakened when Jesus comes again, we will spend infinity with our Creator.

what’s heaven really like?

What do you think infinity looks like? I find that most of us have a narrow view of heaven. Some of us grew up with this picture: an impossibly green field, with children in white robes playing with lions and lambs backdropped by a shining city.

Don’t forget the harps. My younger self guiltily used to think it looked boring, and hoped I would grow up before Jesus came back, publish my first book, travel, learn the bagpipes before I was stuck with a harp forever. In other words, I desperately wanted to do things with my life before eternity in a green meadow came upon me. Perhaps you can relate. But the Bible says, “No eye has 22

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seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). Have we really put our imaginations to the test and thought about what infinity could be like?

We know from the Bible (Revelation 21) that after being taken to heaven with God, we will be brought back to our own earth—a planet made new and perfect. Imagine our world now, with its beautiful biodiversity and varying cultures, but free of destruction, pollution and death. And as for being bored, we were created to be innovative, to create and grow things. Perfect doesn’t mean there’s no room for improvement. Look at the Garden of Eden, created at the very beginning. Before death, it was beautiful and perfect. Yet God still “took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (Genesis 2:15). Imagine a group of architects assembling an intricate bridge across a river and asking God for His advice. Imagine biologists discovering secrets in the genetic code. Imagine artists painting achingly beautiful art, without the desire to cut off their own ears.

Imagine learning without the late nights and stressful exams. Imagine ambition without the love of power or creativity without jealousy.

Dreams now on earth can’t be realised for several reasons—lack of time, lack of money or lack of resources—but I imagine that in our new earth we won’t stop loving the things we loved here now. It will be

We cannot stop the ageing process, but we do have a way out—a glorious, eternal future a place where our dreams can be realised, because we will have infinity.

Jesus tells us to be like little children.

What if part of having child-like faith is keeping that ability to dream and wonder without fear of the future?

Knowing eternity gives us peace in a finite life. We cannot stop the ageing process but we do have a way out—a glorious, eternal future, where creativity and love will abound. I often feel as though this life can’t contain all my hopes and dreams—so that’s why I have the next life. I don’t have to worry so much about getting somewhere, about making something of myself, of doing everything now while I’m still able. This world is not all there is. I hope to carry this with me throughout my life, so that when the last trickle of water is seeping out of my cup, whenever that may be, I will have peace because of the ocean that awaits me.

NISHANTANEJA—PEXELS

Ashley Jankiewicz is an assistant editor for Adventist Record. She writes from Sydney.

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LIVING IN THE MOMENT:

The struggle we don’t talk about 24

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Many of us continually chase the future and in doing so, lose sight of the present. What if the key to truly living isn’t doing more—but embracing what we already have?

MARYELLEN HACKO APRIL 2025 • SIGNSMAG.COM

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I

f you had to describe the past 12 months of your life in just one word, what would it be? Over the years, I’ve asked this question to friends and family, and the most common answer—by a long shot—is “busy” or variations like “blur”, “chaos” or “rollercoaster”. I mean, are we really surprised?

As last year ended, I asked myself the same question. It was a full year: three international trips, growth in my business, new friendships and many good memories. Surely it should be an exciting word! But as I thought about it, panic rose in my chest as I realised that the most honest word was, indeed, busy. Like a bullet train speeding through the countryside, a whole year had flown by and I’d been travelling too fast to smell the wildflowers.

Determined to make a change, I resolved that this year would be different. I’d move more slowly, be more present and “live in the moment”.

But a few weeks in, as old habits returned, I realised that “living in the moment” is far more complicated than it seems.

trying to figure it out

We often throw this phrase around as inspirational advice, hoping it will help us control the passing of time or squeeze more out of life. It’s a lovely thought, but unfortunately the aspiration of “living in the moment” is often out of touch with reality. Think dreamy Pinterest boards of young adults soaking up 26

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European summers or yogis meditating on sun-dappled cliffs. The first obstacle to “living in the moment” is that it’s often reduced to an aesthetic—spanning everything from adrenaline-fuelled adventures to the slow-living movement and even Eastern spirituality.

For years, I pinned posts and followed slow-living influencers, hoping by some miracle of osmosis that they’d transform my hurry addicted personality. But ironically, my obsession with this aesthetic never slowed me down. If anything, it made life feel more hurried.

While slow living may be inspiring, it creates an impossible standard. For the average person juggling work, family and life’s daily demands, just surviving means a packed schedule.

Trying to slow down can feel impossible—especially when it requires lifestyle additions like morning meditations or replacing all your cleaning products with ethically-sourced essential oils. You get the idea.

What we often fail to realise is that slowing down life (beyond an aesthetic) requires radically removing or reprioritising work, commitments, even people. This can disappoint loved ones, squander opportunities, require financial sacrifice or fundamentally alter people’s perceptions of our “success” as human beings. It’s no wonder we struggle to slow down.

environmental sabotage

If the sacrifices required to slow down weren’t enough, the fast-paced

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nature of modern cities—like Sydney, Australia, where I live—makes it even harder. Life becomes a blur of deadlines, commutes, appointments, to-do lists and distractions.

We are constantly focused on the next thing.

Daniel Milo, in Good Enough, calls this phenomenon “elsewhereism”—the constant urge to seek a “better” elsewhere, whether it’s a job, a partner or even a new country. While this drive fuels progress, it also breeds dissatisfaction. We fail to realise that every “better” comes with its own set of challenges and we remain convinced that fulfilment lies just beyond our reach.

Erich Fromm in To Have or To Be? observes, “Modern man thinks he loses time when he does not do things quickly; yet he does not know what to do with the time he gains except kill it.” In other words, we optimise every moment for efficiency, yet when we do manage to carve out time, we inevitably fill it with more tasks—convinced that once we get “on top of everything”, we’ll finally be able to enjoy life.

One of the best descriptions of this paradox is found in Oliver Burkeman’s book Four Thousand Weeks, where he describes how internet APRIL 2025 • SIGNSMAG.COM

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productivity tools like Facebook or email, while promising to make life more convenient, ultimately expose you to vastly more potential uses for your time, creating a trap: “Facebook, for example, is an extremely efficient way to stay informed about events you might like to attend. But it’s also a guaranteed way to hear about more events you’d like to attend than anyone possibly could attend. Email is an unparalleled tool for responding rapidly to a large volume of messages—but then again, if it weren’t for email, you wouldn’t be receiving all of those messages in the first place. The technologies we use to ‘get on top of everything’ always fail us in the end, because they increase the size of the ‘everything’ of which we’re trying to get on top.”

We think that if we just work faster, we’ll have time to live, but the more we optimise, the busier we become. The real issue isn’t how much we have to do—it’s the belief that our value is tied to how much we can get done.

a better solution

Ironically, we often think we’re “living in the moment” when we rush through tasks or strive for a future ideal. But in truth, these are all vain attempts at escaping reality.

To truly live in the moment, we need to engage with reality. Practical steps like setting boundaries with technology or spending quality time with loved ones can help, but true 28

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presence requires a shift in mindset, starting with gratitude.

Engaging with reality means acknowledging what we already have, rather than seeking fulfilment elsewhere. This is radical in our society, where progress is driven by focusing on what’s missing. This constant striving, ingrained by capitalism, fosters a sense of scarcity—do more, get more, be more. Gratitude, however, grounds us in what we already possess. It forces us to stop looking ahead and notice the richness of our current moment.

Unfortunately, we’re often too consumed by to-do lists and distractions to even remember gratitude. A key remedy for this, is to step back and engage with nature. There’s a reason we associate existential longing with gazing at the stars or across the vast ocean. Nature provides a bigger perspective on life, reminding us of our own mortality and insignificance. As astronaut Carl Sagan in Pale Blue Dot famously said, “Look again at that dot. That’s here.

That’s home. That’s us . . . on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.”

King David in Psalm 19:1 agreed with Sagan, saying, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.”

While facing our mortality may be overwhelming, it isn’t something to fear. Rather, it helps us prioritise what truly matters: relationships, purpose and connection. Living in

Living in the moment isn’t a luxury for the few— it’s a choice we can all make

all our needs (Philippians 4:19). As Matthew 11:28 reminds us, we don’t have to strive. Jesus invites us to rest—not because we’ve earned it, but because we belong to Him and He will provide for us.

Living in the moment isn’t a luxury for the few—it’s a choice we can all make. While it does require a fundamental shift in perspective and priorities, we can fully engage in the present and experience a richer, more meaningful life, trusting that God is with us every step of the way.

Even in the busyness and imperfection, we can have peace in knowing that what we have—and who we are—is enough.

Maryellen Hacko is an artist and illustrator living in Sydney, Australia.

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the moment is about aligning our lives with these values, which helps us slow down.

Finally, we must redefine our worth. In a world that links value to productivity, we must remember that our worth doesn’t come from what we do, but from our identity as children of God. True contentment comes when we accept God as our Provider, trusting that He will meet

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how to win at parenting

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hildren have big feelings.

Even worse, children have big feelings over what seem to be rather inconsequential things.

Served the wrong colour plate at

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mealtime? Big feelings.

Can’t go to the playground as planned because it started raining?

Big feelings.

LEGO pieces not fitting or staying

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When your child has a meltdown

“Tantrums and meltdowns are normal. In fact, they are healthy,” says parenting educator Gen Muir.

“They are not a choice our children make, but a state of dysregulation that is beyond their control. A child who is melting down is letting us know that they are no longer able to manage the emotional demands of a situation.”

Instead, she says we need to simply be: • Be calm: Keep your own breathing low and deep • Be confident: Step in to stop them hitting or hurting • Be present: Stay with them, especially through the worst outbursts • Be kind: To them and most certainly to yourself.

“I am not going to lie: welcoming feelings with your child can feel terrifying,” says Muir. “But, learning to do this will have you yelling less and feeling much more able to set confident boundaries, and it will help you meet your child’s emotional needs.”

Melody Tan is a passionate advocate for empowering mothers through connection, faith and digital engagement. She is project manager of Mums At The Table. She lives in Sydney with her husband and their primary-school-aged son.

So, what should you do when your child is emotionally dysregulated?

Muir suggests we need to do and try less: • Less trying to fix • Less trying to solve • Less trying to teach • Less trying to make it end sooner Watch an interview with Gen Muir on why kids have tantrums and download a feelings word list to help children better express their emotions at <mumsatthetable.com>.

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together like they’re meant to? Big feelings.

The trick to handling our children’s big feelings isn’t to tell them to calm down, even though those are probably the first words out of our mouths. Instead, it’s about welcoming the feelings, listening to them and allowing them to vent . . . all the while staying calm ourselves.

These big feelings your child experiences are called emotional dysregulation. What they need from us when they have a meltdown is to co-regulate with them until their own emotions are regulated again.

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ove LBEFORE TIME BEGAN

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JESSICA BISHOP

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From the beginning of the universe to the cross of Calvary, God chose us. Discover how the ultimate act of love reconnected humanity to God and defeated death forever.

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et’s take a moment to pan out to the treetops, to the clouds, up past the sun, moon and stars to the heavenly realms (Ephesians 1:3). Let’s rewind to eons ago before planet Earth existed . . . when only God existed. God, who is three-inone (often called “the Godhead): Father, Son, Spirit.

Let’s rewind back to a heavenly council meeting when planet Earth was conceived in the mind of God—a world of magnificent human beings, created to reflect God in character— to be free agents, choosing to live in the vitality of His love. This love wasn’t cheap. It was beautiful and deep and always had others’ best interests at heart. It never conceived of pain, getting ahead or being “better than” anyone else. It always served.

The Godhead was filled with a bubbling joy at the beautiful creation they had in mind. But then there was a pause . . . what if this creation chose the other way? The way of Satan (a title meaning “the enemy” in Hebrew), the fallen one who chose self-exultation and coveted God’s very throne. He chose to use free will

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for himself and evil was conceived.

There was war in heaven (Revelation 12:7) and arguments, betrayals, lies and anger followed.

What if Satan interfered with the human race and led them astray?

What if the Godhead’s hopes for love between themselves and humanity turned into a recipe for death, if humanity chose Satan’s ways? Without God’s life-giving love, eternal death would come.

The Son, Jesus, spoke up and raised His hand. “I’ll give my life for them if it comes to that.”

A dreadful silence followed. Jesus was promising to give His life for humanity from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). It was absolutely horrific to consider a separation of the Godhead—as that is what it would require, if it was needed. It would be a severing unlike any other.

your beloved

Let’s return to planet Earth in 2025 for a moment. Think about the person you’ve got the strongest bond with. The one who lights you up, who

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15) The Hebrew word for “strike” can also mean “overwhelm”. Jesus would be overwhelmed by Satan, but in return Satan would be crushed by Jesus.

just a girl

Rewind to around 2000 years ago, to a modest home in a modest village. Actually, it was more than modest. Nazareth around the turn of the millennium was a village with a reputation. “Nothing good comes from Nazareth” (John 1:46), they’d say. In Nazareth lived an unmarried teenage girl—though engaged. This young woman was about to have the worst reputation in town. You can hear the news. “Did you hear about Mary? She’s pregnant! She and Joseph aren’t even married!” This was a social disgrace, even deserving of death in that society.

In this time, in this place and in these circumstances came Jesus, the Son. The Godhead acted in unison to save humanity and an angel visited Mary.

“Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favour with God. You will

Jesus raised His hand. “I’ll give my life for them.”

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you long for when you’re apart, who you delight in and adore. Are you thinking of them? You have only an inkling of the bond and love that the Godhead had for each other, which they were willing to sacrifice for humanity.

Only a short time after humanity was created, the Promised One was needed—and there was no hesitation. God came looking for His lost humankind and already He could see the negative effects of their choices: they hid from Him and their faces were not open. They were separated from Him and from each other.

This separation needed repairing.

So, Jesus made a promise to Satan:

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conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus . . . The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God” (Luke 1:28-35 abridged).

God chose you

Just like that, God the Son became human, yet divine, in Mary’s womb and the separation of the Godhead began. Jesus was born in Bethlehem and grew up in Nazareth. While He was God, He was also man. Yet, He loved with the love of God, not the love of man. Unlike Satan, Adam and Eve and us, Jesus didn’t prioritise Himself and His desires, needs or curiosities. He chose others. He chose us. He became love personified. His life was one of care, courage and commitment toward us—His beloved human children.

This love took Him to the cross.

This is the heart of the Easter story.

In our fallen state, we were enemies of God. Unable to be reconciled with Him on our own, Jesus did it for us.

He took the eternal death we deserve so that we could have the eternal life He deserved. As He made this decision, He felt it might indeed be an eternal separation, an eternal sundering from oneness of the Godhead and from us.

As He wrestled in the garden of Gethsemane, crying tears of blood, His heart was breaking as He contemplated the separation. He stood erect, calm in the face of jeers, 36

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is all lost?

Darkness covered the land for three hours as He hung and suffered the weight of what every person from Adam to the end of time has ever thought, done and felt that was not in line with perfect love. He carried the pain of every victim of abuse, every slave, every forgotten child, every guilty offender, every war, every disaster, every injustice . . . and it overwhelmed Him. But what overwhelmed Him even more was the separation from the Godhead. He cried, “My God my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Little did He know that while God the Father couldn’t rescue Him and the fallen human race at the same time, the Father was with Him in the darkness. God breathed deeply and bore witness to the suffering of His Son, as would any father who loves his son with every fibre of his being.

“It is finished.” The breath of life left Jesus and there was a separation,

a sundering, like never before and never again . . . and all of heaven gasped in horror.

Yet, there was also hope. The question hovered: could perfect love conquer even eternal death?

Early Sunday morning, while stars still hovered in the sky and the light of dawn shimmered on the horizon, a heavenly messenger came with a joyous and thundering mission. He who gave His life for them was raised to life. Jesus rose to His Father. Love prevailed!

As a new day dawned on planet Earth, Mary, who anointed Him for burial, was the first to share the good news on which the gospel hinges.

The tomb is empty! He has risen!

Jesus Messiah, God the Son from eternity past to eternity future succeeded in overcoming the evilness of humanity. He made it possible for all of humanity to be connected back to Himself, if they so wish. They can choose to lead full and meaningful lives of service, certainty, hope and purpose. Not just now, but for eternity to come.

Therefore, the heart of the Easter story is captured in this verse: “greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

Jessica Bishop is a wife, mother and clinical psychologist who is passionate about living the life she is called to by God. She and her family live on the Gold Coast.

MIDJOURNEY

enduring harsh questions and mockery from religious and Roman leaders, being beaten by the soldiers— and all along, continued to choose us. As He strained from muscle to muscle and aching limb to aching limb on the cross, He continued to choose us. He wanted us to have the opportunity for life that He and the Godhead had envisioned from the beginning. That love sustained Him and He didn’t falter in completing His promised mission.

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PANDEMIC PROBLEM OF P

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CS AND THE PAIN

What pestilence and disease can teach us, about ourselves and the nature of God.

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MARK HADLEY

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ow many of your Covid-19 resolutions have survived?

In the early months of 2020, people were still given to considering the positive outcomes of the pandemic. Lockdowns across Australia had thrown us back on ourselves in ways our hurried and harried generation had not experienced before. Without the need to travel to work, we found time to invest in ourselves. People were learning to cook again, to entertain themselves with books and craft projects.

When my local gym closed, I purchased a set of dumbbells and worked out a routine my friends and I could share online. Everywhere, everyone was talking about a renaissance of human flourishing in the threatening shadow of an international outbreak. But how much of that renaissance persists in 2025?

Probably the most obvious professional change has been a new flexibility in the way we work. Covid-19 proved that many of our jobs could be carried out just as efficiently at home as they might be in an office block. At the other end of the spectrum, though, I’ll be the first to admit that many personal habits have foundered. For example, my family—one among many—redis-

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covered the bicycle and took long rides in the local park. However, those once-shiny machines are now gathering dust in our carport, as are my aforementioned dumbbells.

But there is at least one individual outcome that has persisted.

Every person who passed through the Covid-19 pandemic can easily imagine that it could happen again.

Who will ever look at the toilet paper aisle in our grocery store the same way again? I used to be satisfied with buying eight rolls at a time. Now I buy bales of 24 from Costco. I also ensure we have more than one bottle of disinfectant in the laundry. Our medical kit includes rapid antigen tests, right next to the handwash. And I’ll even admit to a box of threeply face masks hidden away in an upper cupboard. It’s been said that the generation that passed through the Great Depression could never abide the waste of food. I’d suggest the survivors of the Covid-19 pandemic will never be able to ignore international health warnings. Or pandemic films, for that matter.

life imitates art

This June will see the release of the film 28 Years Later, the third in-

Every person who passed through the Covid-19 pandemic can easily imagine that it could happen again the edge of a dark world. When a father and son venture into the heart of England to accomplish an urgent mission, they discover that humanity has adapted to the reality of the virus in chilling ways. The predicted success of this sequel—hailed by The Guardian as the most anticipated film of 2025—is poised to set box offices aflame. As I said, our communal experience of Covid-19 has made us quite open to such storylines.

But 28 Years Later is also likely to reinvigorate an older argument for questioning the nature, even the existence of God.

history rhymes

Covid-19 is not the first time we have seen an all-conquering virus reshape the world. In the 14th century, the Black Death resulted in the deaths of as many as 50 million people, approximately half of the population of Europe. The early 20th century’s Spanish Flu infected APRIL 2025 • SIGNSMAG.COM

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stalment in a pandemic trilogy kicked off by celebrated English director Danny Boyle. In the original film, 28 Days Later, animal activists inadvertently release an experimental virus from a Cambridge laboratory.

The “rage” strain rapidly infected the United Kingdom, turning large swathes of the population into homicidal maniacs. The story followed a small group of survivors who risked all manner of threats from the infected and uninfected alike and eventually holed up in a remote cottage to await rescue. The film was such a success that it was credited with reinvigorating the zombie film genre, paving the way for subsequent hits like The Walking Dead and I Am Legend. Its profits were certainly grounds enough to greenlight two sequels.

In 28 Months Later, we see the world’s response to the British pandemic. After a long quarantine, the US military spearheads a move to re-settle ruined London. What follows is a series of very human decisions that break the quarantine at several points, leading to the collapse of the new safe zone. The ultimate result is the spread of the contagion across the English Channel to France and presumably the rest of Europe.

When the story picks up this June, it will reveal a world that has adapted to life with the rage virus.

In 28 Years Later, we are introduced to a small community on the tidal island of Lindisfarne that is carefully eking out an existence on

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more than 500 million people, with fatalities numbering anywhere from 17 to 50 million. The AIDS pandemic began in 1981 and has continued to be a worldwide public health issue for 44 years. Of the more than 71 million confirmed cases, more than 42 million have ended in death. In each case, the world has been troubled by significant religious upheaval. Critics of Christianity have pointed to the widespread horrors and questioned the idea of an all-wise hand guiding the history of the world. And that’s not to mention the fatal fires and landslides, wars and tsunamis that have also contributed to this argument. In short, in the face of such overwhelming suffering, how could 42

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Christians maintain belief in the existence of a good God?

the paradox of pain

A person of faith should never tackle a question like this lightly.

Behind every statistic is a story of unique suffering that has often rippled out to touch many lives besides. But such arguments rest on the premise that God would not allow things like pandemics to occur. In essence, the argument runs that a good, all-powerful God would guarantee a pain-free world. However, since the world is manifestly full of pain, there can be no good God—or at least, not one powerful enough to do us any good.

lives. Moreso, He has taken steps to end it.

God is not interested in half measures. When He set His sights on solving the problem of pain, He did not stop with a single war or a virus. He took aim at the sin that has warped human experience since the first person said “No!” to His rule.

He took on all those rebellions in the person of Jesus and suffered for them on the Cross so that a door could be opened on a world that would know neither pain nor death.

28 Years Later may present us with a picture of a world torn apart by senseless suffering. But the person who denies the existence of God because there is pain in the world is no better off for doing so.

They remain alone in their suffering.

Apologetic observations might give us some glimpse into the workings of the universe but, honestly, they equally fall short on consolation. The only sure comfort is to be found in the character of God. He has shown Himself to be for us. He not only knows us, but knows our pain, suffers with us and has promised to one day “wipe every tear” from our eyes. He will by no means abandon those who come to Him. Mark Hadley is a media and cultural critic who lives with his family in Sydney.

Please note that discussion of a media product in Signs of the Times does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation.

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Yet the certainty that fills such a statement is founded on a logical fallacy. The assumption the divine critic makes is that there can be no such thing as good suffering. Yet even the smallest experience of everyday life tells us otherwise.

We can easily imagine with our moderate intellects reasons for allowing moderate pain to exist. We take ourselves to the gym and push muscles to their extreme because we want to stimulate growth. We submit to a wide range of medical procedures, from dentistry to radiation therapy, in pursuit of greater health. We discipline our children, causing them suffering for a time for their personal good and we submit lawbreakers to state-sanctioned suffering for the good of society. Now, if we, with our moderate intellects, can conceive of good reasons to inflict moderate pain, then it is reasonable to assume that God, with His superior understanding, can possess reasons to allow greater pain—pains that might seem bereft of meaning from our limited perspective.

That’s not to say that “God knows better, so you should just grin and bear it”. The Bible goes to great length to assure us that God both knows our pains and suffers with us. Psalm 56:8 says, “You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your record?”

God both comprehends and keeps a record of the seemingly inexplicable anguish that invades our

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As a pastor, there are questions I’ve encountered over and over again, sometimes about the Bible but usually about everyday life. If you’ve never had the opportunity to ask a pastor tough questions this is the right place!

Are natural disasters the result of God’s punishment?

In January of 2025, some took comedian Nikki Glaser’s offhand comments at the Golden Globes as evidence that God was punishing godless, secular California with the devastating LA fires. Perhaps it’s fitting Glaser is most well-known for her roasts.

Jokes aside, for those of you keeping score at home, you’ll know that this isn’t the only time people have attributed natural disasters to God’s wrath. In 2017, actor Kirk

Cameron speculated that Hurricanes Harvey and Irma were “part of God’s plan” to bring repentance—though he was tight-lipped about exactly who ought to repent and for what. In 2015, Messianic Jewish pastor Jonathan Cahn claimed that Hurricane Joaquin, which hit Hawaii the previous year, was a result of God’s anger at the recent legalisation of gay marriage, as well as abortion. Louisiana pastor Tony Perkins, who was interviewing him, agreed, saying “God is trying to send us a message”.

However, that didn’t stop a flood from destroying Perkins’ home just a year later.

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Perkins, for that matter. Or maybe our tendency to assign blame to God for natural disasters is more to do with us than God Himself.

The question of human suffering has caused many through the ages to ponder these difficult questions.

The flood narrative in Genesis 6–9 tells of God destroying the earth and all its inhabitants (except Noah and his family). Likewise, later in Genesis, God destroys two cities—Sodom and Gomorrah—because of their evil.

The apostle Paul remarks that they were destroyed because of their “ungodliness” (Romans 2:5).

So, is the God of the Bible a vengeful, capricious, genocidal maniac?

James (Jesus’ brother) claims that God never “tests” people (James 1:13), though scholars have debated whether this applies only to personal temptation or the sins of whole societies. Even the Old Testament isn’t consistent. The prophet Jonah lambasts God for reneging on His threat to destroy the wicked people of Nineveh, accusing Him of being “gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity” (Jonah 4:2).

But perhaps most telling is the methodology God uses to deal with evil itself. God gives His only Son Jesus to the world to save the world—not through destruction, but through the shedding of His own blood. As German theologian Jurgen Moltmann said, “God heals the sicknesses and the griefs by making the sicknesses and

the griefs His suffering and His grief.”

Did God destroy people in the Bible as an expression of divine justice? Well, if we take the Bible at its word, then we must say yes. We cannot explain away these moments as metaphorical without undermining the credibility of biblical history.

We can, however, ask a better question: do these stories of divine violence paint a complete picture of who God is?

The most-quoted passage in the Hebrew Bible is Exodus 34:6,7: “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” It’s the same verse Jonah quotes earlier and as many scholars have argued, it is core to understanding the

God of the Old Testament. Though God does mete justice out on evildoers, His primary character trait is that of grace, compassion and loyal love. He is a God who keeps His covenant relationship with people, even if they are unfaithful to Him. So no, God does not punish people with hurricanes or wildfires. He is a God who is overflowing with generous love and who desires deep connection with you and me.

Want to get your question published in the next issue? Ask Jesse a question by scanning this code!

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g n i d l e Thme omment

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Are you savouring the sweetness of your “melding moment”? Learn how the mystery of marriage mirrors the divine harmony God intended for us.

NATHAN DUMLAO—UNSPLASH

DANIEL MATTEO

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H

ave you ever tried a Melting Moment? Oh man, if you haven’t you need to. Google a recipe, bake a batch and eat one.

They are awesome.

In case you don’t know, a Melting Moment is the pure, unadulterated, perfect combination of butter, sugar and flour sandwiching some kind of icing. It also tastes like it is made from the sweetened milk of rainbow unicorns. It’s kind of like a shortbread icing sandwich, if you can imagine that. Every single one is a miracle in your mouth waiting to happen. They are a mystery, a beautiful and delicious thing.

One of the most strange and wonderful things that the Bible speaks about repeatedly is another mystery, not of a Melting Moment—but a “melding moment”. It’s the time when two people from different families and backgrounds come together to meld to become one unit. This melding moment is what we call the biblical mystery of marriage.

This mystery is first mentioned in Genesis 1:27,28.

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“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number . . .”

Right at the beginning of human history, God created an institution that was to form the bedrock of human society. The institution of the family unit would become the ideal model for millions of families to come. This family, standing together in unity, all bore the image and reflection of God—who is in His very being a loving relationship between three distinct but unified Beings—the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

That moment of the perfect marriage between our most ancient ancestors is described in more detail in Genesis 2:21–23.

“So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called “woman,” for she was taken out of man.’”

When speaking of relationships between men and women, the apostle Paul uses this story as a basis for arguing for the

tragedy to befall a family that had formerly known such divine intimacy and happiness.

With Abel’s death, God’s perfect plan of unadulterated love within the family unit was seriously scarred.

Since that time, there has been a continual breakdown of the principle of selfless love in marriage and family that has led to untold pain and suffering through the ages.

Unfortunately, there are many forces in this world that seek to destroy the harmony God has in mind for His children in their home life.

One sad consequence of this has been the terror of domestic violence; something that is never, ever acceptable, whether perpetrated by men or women.

Sometimes, our marriages and families are attacked in more subtle ways though.

Overwork, disrespect, insensitivity, communication problems, unforgiveness, thoughtlessness, neglect and unkindness are slow, silent family killers. They need work and intentionality to defeat.

God’s design is that His people model His love by mimicking (as closely as possible in this broken world) the original design He created

NATALIA OLIVERA—PEXELS

mutual dependence and equality of the genders for “woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God” (1 Corinthians 11:11,12).

Author Ellen White put it this way: “Eve was created from a rib taken from the side of Adam, signifying that she was not to control him as the head, nor to be trampled under his feet as an inferior, but to stand by his side as an equal, to be loved and protected by him.”1 This is why Jesus said, “This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one” (Matthew 19:5, NLT2).

What an awesome mystery! The mystery of the Melding Moment!

Unfortunately, as we look back through human history, we can see that this situation of perfect love in the family did not last very long.

In fact, this very first family soon fell into pain and problems. These problems were most obvious when Adam’s firstborn son Cain murdered his younger brother Abel. What a

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Right at the beginning of human history, God created an institution that was to form the bedrock of human society

in the beginning. The family home is supposed to be a little piece of heaven on earth. After all, the marriage institution ultimately is a divine parallel of how Jesus loves His people and died on the cross to save them.

Speaking to husbands, the apostle Paul said in Ephesians 5:25, 28, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her . . . In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.” Sadly, too many of us sacrifice our family to help ourselves, rather than sacrifice ourselves to help our family. Someone once asked a workaholic husband, “I know you would die for your family, but will you choose to live for them?”

Author Max Lucado relates, “Clovis Chappell, a minister from a century back, used to tell the story of two paddleboats. They left Memphis about the same time, travelling down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. As they travelled side by side, sailors from one vessel made a few remarks about the snail’s pace of the other. Words were exchanged.

Challenges were made. And the race began. Competition became vicious as the two boats roared through the Deep South. One boat began falling behind. Not enough fuel. There had been plenty of coal for the trip, but not enough for a race. As the boat dropped back, an enterprising young sailor took some of the ship’s cargo and tossed it into the ovens. When the sailors saw that the supplies 50

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burned as well as the coal, they fuelled their boat with the material they had been assigned to transport.

They ended up winning the race, but burned their cargo. God has entrusted cargo to us, too: children, spouses, friends. Our job is to do our part in seeing that this cargo reaches its destination. Yet when the program takes priority over people, people often suffer. How much cargo do we sacrifice in order to achieve the number one slot? How many people never reach the destination because of the aggressiveness of a competitive captain?”3 Being in a loving “melding moment” should give you the warm, delicious feeling of eating a Melting Moment! If it isn’t, are you sacrificing your family for the sake of selfishness? Do you put aside time with your partner and children to achieve your materialistic goals? Are you acting inappropriately, unkindly or even abusively within your marriage?

If you are, the consequences will never be worth it. Healthy choices, whether confession, counselling or accountability, will lead to healthy relationships. God is always willing to help—if we ask.

Daniel Matteo is a Seventh-day Adventist pastor in Victoria, Australia. He is married to Katy and has two children, Grace and Samuel.

1. Ellen G White, The Adventist Home. Ellen G White Estate, 2013.

2. Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

3. Max Lucado, In the Eye of the Storm. Word Publishing, 1991.

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make a difference

Hands serving, hearts growing In Aranui and Rangiora, Adopt-a-Yard has been restoring more than overgrown yards.

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ed by Aranui Garden City Seventh-day Adventist Church, with support from the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) New Zealand, volunteers have helped those struggling with outdoor maintenance due to age, illness or financial hardship. But beyond clearing gardens and trimming hedges, something greater has taken root—connections have deepened, young people have grown and faith has been put into action.

The project aimed to provide free yard maintenance while mentoring youth in leadership and teamwork.

Over the course of 17 months, volunteers dedicated countless hours to transforming properties and fostering community connections.

By involving young volunteers, Adopt-a-Yard became a mentorship platform, giving youth leadership roles and the fulfilment of serving others.

Nikita William, a single mum of two, joined as a coordinator and soon realised she was being impacted.

“I learned how to take leadership

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and responsibility—putting others first before myself and helping them with their needs, just like Jesus did.”

She also reflected on how her perspective on giving changed: “I used to do yard jobs for people, but I also got paid. That doesn’t give me the same humbling satisfaction as this project does. Giving my time without expecting anything in return makes me feel free.”

For many, Adopt-a-Yard became a journey of transformation. Hilda William hadn’t considered serving others this way before joining.

“I never thought about cleaning someone else’s yard when my own needed attention. Since I joined Adopt-a-Yard, I learned that serving others actually helps you heal and renew your mind.”

Through the initiative, she built friendships and grew spiritually.

“I need friends that want Jesus just as much as I do.”

One family who received assistance was so moved by the volunteers’ kindness that they began attending church. For those

who served, the impact was just as profound.

“People ask why we do this work for free,” one volunteer reflected. “I hope when they see us, they recognise we serve a kind and loving God.” Adopt-a-Yard proves that small acts of kindness create lasting change. Volunteers discovered leadership, resilience and the joy of service.

As the project continues, the hope is that more young people will step forward, serve their communities and experience the fulfilment that comes from giving—because in serving, we reflect the heart of Christ.

SUPPLIED IMAGES

Courtney Latu works for ADRA New Zealand. To learn more about ADRA, visit <adra.org.nz>.

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GOD’S WORD: IMMUTABLE, RELIABLE, UNSTOPPABLE

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Despite centuries of censorship, persecution and tampering, the Bible remains a timeless source of hope, truth and inspiration. But what makes it the world’s most resilient and transformative book?

BIANCA MCARTHUR

GETTYIMAGES.COM

I

f you’ve ever opened the Bible, you’ll notice it is organised into two parts. Jews recognise the first section (often referred to simply as “the Jewish Scriptures”), which points forward to the Messiah. Christians also recognise the New Testament—a record kept by the first followers of Jesus—many who had known Jesus personally.* While observant Jews carry portions of Scripture on their heads and French and Italian Waldensians slipped death-defying fragments of holy writ to sympathisers in the Middle Ages, not everyone “feels the love”. In the 1970s, Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu confiscated Bibles and recycled them as toilet paper.

Clearly, the Bible can be physically altered but should it—and where it has been, are these unauthorised changes lasting? Overwhelmingly, the answer is “no”. Film buffs will be familiar with the “curse of the Pharaohs” trope, where greedy villains die trying to get rich. In Ancient Egypt, royal tombs were sometimes sealed with curses to deter would-be grave robbers tempted to sully the graves’ purity.

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In the Bible, there are similar injunctions against tampering with the script. The Old Testament warns, “Do not add to what I command you, and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.” John, in the book of Revelation, cautions, “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: if anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll.

And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.”

The message is clear: those who violate even the smallest part do so at their own risk!

JESSICA MANGANO—UNSPLASH

God’s Word: reliable

So, why read the Bible? In part, for the same reason we read so many other books: to expand our understanding of the human experience, identify personally with misunderstood people and be inspired.

Jaded as we are, something inside us yearns for something transcendently wonderful and true. What mystery draws us hither, diverse in age, ability, personality, background and experience, as we are?

For that matter, how can we be sure that the Bible is reliable? Why not leave it in Qumran, where Essene communities stored them away more than 2000 years ago? Why should we care if Masoretic scribes ensured transcription accuracy more than

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1000 years ago? Why should the Bible authors—mortal, fallible, just like us—be believed? How can we tell if this Western cultural keystone—by, for and about mostly ancient Jews— isn’t just a myth?

In a whodunit like no other, God’s penmen came together to tell one story. Differing remarkably in age, personality, ability and background, they were slaves and princes, scribes and conquerors. Here we find inclusivity in live action: yes-men to strongmen; farmer to prophet; bread-and-cheese courier to giant slayer; bureaucrat to builder, immigrant to queen, weatherman to star-voyaging spaceman, to name just a few!

How could it be justly claimed that all these people colluded across space and time to invent one Messiah? Good question. If you’re familiar with any number of debates through the ages, whether based in politics, education, gender, class or race and so many others, have you stopped to wonder how the Bible presents such a unified story throughout such diversity? How is it that in a world of multi-directional debate, raging war and ongoing social contention, that 40 different writers with 66 books between them all came together seamlessly across 1500 years to lift up one Saviour?

The Bible defies the odds to present a unified, unanimously awestruck witness to “the breadth, length, height and depth” of God’s great love for humanity, and an open invitation

The Bible is a miracle worthy of our highest regard and admiration

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to enjoy the riches of His blessings.

It is a miracle worthy of our highest regard and admiration! No wonder so many believe it to be “the greatest story ever told”.

God’s Word, giftable

When Moses came down the mountain with the Ten Commandments written on tablets of stone, he brought humankind a rare gift.

However, that was nothing compared to the living “stone” that came down from heaven 2000 years ago. Yet so many missed it! Though many didn’t realise it, this was the Gift of whom all the prophets wrote: a Messiah for all nations.

Genesis introduces Jesus as the “seed” of the woman who’ll crush the origin of evil. In Exodus, He’s the Passover Lamb, as well as the Bread of Life that “came down from heaven”. In Leviticus, He’s the High 58

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Priest who represents Israel. In Numbers, His “star” is foreseen. In Deuteronomy, He is a prophet like Moses.

In Joshua, He’s the conqueror.

He’s better than the judges of Israel at their best. In the book of Ruth, He is the kinsman-redeemer of both Gentiles and Jews. In 1 and 2 Samuel, He is God’s anointed husbandman and shepherd-king. In 1 and 2 Kings, He is a peacemaking sage, a healer and a doer of miracles. In 1 and 2 Chronicles, He is “one greater than the temple”.

In Ezra, He’s the restored temple embodied. In Nehemiah, He’s the cupbearer who puts temptation to shame. In Esther, He’s an intercessor and protector. In Psalms, He asks, “God, why have you forsaken me?” even as His mercy is proclaimed. In Proverbs, He’s the tree of life. In Song of Songs, He’s the Bridegroom. In

God’s Word, unstoppable

Why did English bishop Cuthbert Tunstall feel so threatened by an English translation of the Bible that he sought to destroy all known copies of the book that would become the King James Bible?

He failed: in fact, the purchase of William Tyndale’s Bible funded more!

Why did Tyndale’s enemies urge Henry VIII to murder him in 1536?

Even after his death, Tyndale’s wish came true—that God would “open the king of England’s eyes”.

Despite “murder most foul”, God’s great work of translating the Bible into English continued unabated.

Three years later, King Henry VIII

ruled that every church in England must have access to an English Bible. By 1611, a unified England and Scotland had a Bible in the English language. Of course, Tyndale was not the only man to give his life for the sake of translation, nor was he the Bible’s sole translator. So that all might know the truth of the gospel, the Bible was soon translated into all the languages of Europe.

Beloved reader, did you know Jesus gave Himself for you? My urge for you is to accept the love of Jesus for yourself. It’s the most amazing gift ever! Much more could be said about the nuances of the Bible and the stellar faith of those who, in loving devotion to Jesus, wrote it. For now, one question remains: will the power in the blood—the blood of one innocent man, one gracious father of cosmic love, one Messiah, swift to die, but forever strong to redeem lost humanity—give you freedom from death? That choice is yours alone.

Bianca McArthur is an author from Tasmania, Australia. You can read some of her stories in Ordinary People, Faithful God and Ordinary People, Generous God. The first book in this devotional trilogy is Ordinary People, Extraordinary God. The series is available from the Adventist Book Centre <adventistbookcentre.com.au>.

* For all references and footnotes, please read the online version of this article. It can be accessed by scanning this QR code.

MIDJOURNEY

Isaiah, He’s the suffering servant, yet “mighty to save”.

In Jeremiah, He’s the shepherd that is struck. In Ezekiel, He’s the Son of Man. In Daniel, He’s “the Messiah, the Prince”. In Hosea, He’s faithful.

In Joel, He sends the Spirit. In Amos, He is the sin-bearer. In Obadiah, He’s victorious. In Jonah, He’s lost and found.

In Micah, He’s a Bethlehemite. In Nahum, He is an iconoclast and a peacemaker. In Habakkuk, His light is manifest. In Zephaniah, He is a returner of the remnant. In Haggai, He is the glory of the temple. In Zechariah, He’s like a slave and yet a priest-king like Melchizedek, humble and lowly and riding on the foal of a donkey. In Malachi, He’s the Sun of Righteousness, who rises with power to heal.

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HOW TO LOVE YOUR LEFTOVERS

Leftovers are often discarded. Avoid the waste and save money with these handy tips.

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1. Make it a meal

Think about what to do with your leftovers as you pack them away, or factor them in to your meal planning right from the start and store them in the fridge or freezer. Tonight’s leftovers can be lunch tomorrow, frozen for dinner next week or transformed into an entirely new dish.

2. Keep them in sight

Store your leftovers at the front of the fridge on a shelf that is at eye level to prevent the age-old problem of discovering them at the back of the fridge a week later decayed without a hope of consumption.

3. Mark them up

Keep a marker and labels handy to track when food was made and when it should be eaten. Refrigerated leftovers should be eaten within two days to avoid the risk of harmful bacteria like listeria. Frozen leftovers, if kept at -18°C, can last up to three months. And try to avoid thawing and refreezing again.

4. Act quickly

To keep leftovers safe, make sure to cover and store them in the fridge or freezer within two hours. This is because bacteria can grow rapidly at room temperature, making the food unsafe to eat if left out for too long.

5. Reheat right

When reheating leftovers, make sure they are thoroughly heated to at least 75°C. To kill most bacteria, soups and other liquid foods should be brought to a full boil and stirred for at least three minutes. Also, don’t reheat it more than once.

6. Total transformation

Similar to the “cook once, eat all week” approach, you can prepare various main dishes and enjoy a new meal each night. Even if you didn’t plan for it, get creative and turn last night’s leftovers into a fresh dish.

For example, leftover rice and eggs can become fried rice or burritos and leftover veggies and protein can become a salad, quiche or a pizza.

7. Holiday-style buffet

Set one evening a week as your fridge clean-out night. Mix and match leftovers to create a main dish, and serve the rest as sides. Or turn it into a buffet. You can add a few extras like wraps, bread and salad greens for some fresh new combinations.

MIKHAIL NILOV—PEXELS

W

e’ve all faced a fridge full of food left over from a week’s worth of cooking.

Instead of throwing these leftovers out, turning them into something useful can help you save money, time and cut down on food waste. Here are our top tips to help you make the most of your leftovers.

Article courtesy of Sanitarium Health Food Company. Visit sanitarium.com.au or sanitarium.co.nz and subscribe to Recipe of the Week for a delicious plant-powered recipe in your inbox each week.

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Crossword Puzzle

CROSSWORD

How closely have you been reading? Each keyword in this puzzle is also contained within this edition of Signs of the Times. Happy digging!

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ho aim to live until 150 years old who accused God of being and compassionate" l "melding moment" where two

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Across: 3. The term used to describe t nature of God—Father, Son 6. The 14th-century pandemic between 30 and 50 per cen

crossword clues DOWN 1 A couple who aim to live until 150 years old 2 A prophet who accused God of being “gracious and compassionate” 4 The biblical “melding moment” where two people become one 5 The event that sets Jesus apart from every other figure in history 10 The garden where Jesus wrestled in prayer, sweating tears of blood 11 A mindset shift that helps ground us in the moment 14 The central figure prophesied in the Jewish Scriptures ACROSS 3 Term used to describe the three-in-one nature of God 6 The 14th-century pandemic that killed between 30 and 50 per cent of Europe 7 A fictional disease that turns people into zombies 8 German theologian who described God as taking on human suffering to heal it 9 A “miracle in your mouth” 12 His English Bible translation led to the creation of the KJV 13 Daniel Milo’s term for the constant urge to seek a “better” elsewhere

SUDOKU easy

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SOLUTIONS AVAILABLE ONLINE SIGNSMAG.COM APRIL 2025 • SIGNSMAG.COM

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