Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a Senior Strategist for Fuller’s Max De Pree Center for Leadership, where he focuses on the spiritual development and thriving of leaders. He is the principal writer of the daily devotional, Life for Leaders, and the founder of the De Pree Center’s Flourishing in the Third Third of Life Initiative. Previously, Mark was the Executive Director of the De Pree Center, the lead pastor of a church in Southern California, and the Senior Director of Laity Lodge in Texas. He has written eight books, dozens of articles, and over 2,500 devotions that help people discover the difference God makes in their daily life and leadership. With a Ph.D. in New Testament from Harvard, Mark teaches at Fuller Seminary, most recently in his D.Min. cohort on “Faith, Work, Economics, and Vocation.” Mark is married to Linda, a marriage and family counselor, spiritual director, and executive coach. Their two grown children are educators on the high school and college level.
Third Third in the News – April 2023: Ageism and the Courage to Be “Out There” in Social Media
In the February edition of “Third Third in the News,” I noted that Michelle Yeoh, having just won a Golden Globe award for Everything Everywhere All at Once, spoke out against ageism in Hollywood.
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It Takes a Village . . . and a Church to Flourish in the Third Third of Life
I’ve been reading a fascinating book. Time of Our Lives: Celebrating Older Women was written by Dr. Maggie Kirkman, a psychologist and senior research fellow in women’s health at Monash University in Australia. The main portion of her book is a collection of stories of older women living full, fruitful, and inspiring lives.
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Riding the Rapids of Christ’s Love
Even as the banks of a river propel the water forward and direct its flow, so the love of Christ for the world can motivate us and guide our actions.
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You May Look Great, But How Is Your Heart?
Our culture is obsessed with appearance. We experience this all the time. This obsession can easily dominate our lives. So much concern about outward appearance can distract us from what matters most: the state of our heart. When we realize that God knows our hearts, we are motivated to pay more attention to what’s on the inside than what’s on the outside.
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Aiming to Please God
Whether we are at home with the Lord or away, whether we are at work or school, whether we are at church or shopping for groceries, whether we are teaching a class or sweeping a floor, whether we are writing a sermon or closing a deal, whether we’re feeding the hungry or hanging out with our friends, no matter what we are doing we make it our aim to please the Lord.
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The Holy Spirit as Earnest Money
In this mortal life we will struggle and suffer. We will experience life mixed with death. But beyond physical death we will enter into the fullness of life. Our “perishable” bodies will put on “imperishability” and our “mortal” bodies will put on “immortality” (1 Cor 15:53). That sounds marvelous, but we may wonder if this is really going to happen or if it’s just wishful thinking. 2 Corinthians 5:5 shows that the Holy Spirit supplies God’s response to our wondering. The Spirit reassures us of the future we have in God. Someday we will experience life in all of its fullness and joy.
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Don’t Forget About the Second Third!
Is the De Pree Center’s Flourishing in the Third Third of Life course relevant only to those in the third third? Or does it have value for folks in the earlier thirds as well?
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Groaning, Longing, and Swallowed Up
2 Corinthians talks about groaning as something human beings experience in this life. We groan with pain. We groan over sadness and injustice. But we also groan with longing. We groan as we hope for the day when God makes all things new, including us. In that time, we won’t be consumed by death. Rather, we will be swallowed up by life.
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How Can I See the Unseen?
Thinking about the age to come does not make us less concerned for the world of this age. If anything, the more we reflect on the future, the more we pray for God to grant us a bit more of the future today. Plus, we can be more attentive to moments in which God’s grace is seen in the kindness of strangers. We can be more appreciative of times when God’s people seek the justice of God’s kingdom. We can be more grateful than ever for moments when God’s love penetrates our yearning hearts.
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The Weight of Glory
2 Corinthians 4:17 presents a striking contrast between the affliction of mortal life and the glory we will experience in God’s future. In comparison to the weightiness of our future glory, our current suffering is light. It is also temporary, whereas the glory of the future will never end. The hope of glory does not cause us to be unduly focused upon ourselves, however, because we will see our neighbors as people of glory. Thus we’ll be committed even more to treat them with justice and love.
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Being Renewed as Your Body Wears Out
I don’t believe there are “seven secrets to renewing your soul.” There isn’t a magic list of things you can do for this to happen. The Holy Spirit works in each of us in distinctive and unique ways. But the example of Paul in 2 Corinthians encourages us to not lose heart as even as our bodies diminish. We turn to the Lord for help, embracing the promise of our inner nature being renewed day by day.
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The Significance of Your Resurrection
Your labor is not in vain if you work for God’s purposes and glory. The work you do, whether at your office, your studio, your store, your warehouse, or your kitchen is not meaningless if it’s done for the Lord. Moreover, somehow, in the mystery of God’s providence, what you’re doing now will matter in God’s future. Of this you can have confidence because of the resurrection—the resurrection of Jesus and your own resurrection.
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Living in the Tension Between Life and Death
The Christian life involves living in the tension between death and life. While we experience hard things in this life, and while suffering is very real, we also have the life of Jesus within us. This life enables us to be resilient when hard things threaten to tear us down. Suffering helps us draw near to Jesus. It beckons us to trust God even more than we have in the past. As we do, the life of Jesus comes alive within us.
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Your Treasure Hunt
God has placed treasure within you. Though you may be an ordinary “clay jar,” God has chosen to give you the knowledge of divine glory in Christ. God has placed extraordinary power in you through the indwelling Holy Spirit. In a way, your life is a different kind of treasure hunt. You know what the treasure is and where it is located. Now you get to discover all that this treasure means for you and how to experience it each day.
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God Shines in Our Hearts
In 2 Corinthians 4-5, the Apostle Paul puts the spotlight on our mortality. But he begins by focusing, not on our frailty, nor on the darkness in our world, but rather on the light of God shining within us. In the season of Lent, as we acknowledge the darkness, we also remember the light of God and ask God to brighten our hearts with love, grace, and truth.
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