I love my institution’s mission statement. I especially love the phrase “courageous and faithful learning and living.”

As a member of the Northwestern College community, I try to work and live with that mission and phrase in mind. Holding courage and faithfulness together is hard. It creates tension and stress. Not everyone agrees with what it means to be courageous. Not everyone agrees with what it means to be faithful. But we try to live in that tension.

The Reformed Journal writers and readers try to live in that same tension—the tension created when we try to be both courageous and faithful. Like my institution, we don’t all agree on the definitions of these words, but it’s in the tension that we learn and grow. 

I teach anatomy to aspiring nurses, physical therapists, and personal trainers every fall semester. When we learn about bones, we talk about the importance of tension or stress for bone health. Your bones remodel constantly in response to stress. If you get a new pair of shoes, your bones remodel to accommodate the new stress those shoes put on them. If you hurt yourself and limp, your bones remodel to accommodate the new stress caused by your limp. If you add weightlifting to your workout routine, your bones remodel in response to the new stress. Conversely, if we don’t put stress on our bones, they become weaker. We describe bone adaptation to stress with Wolff’s law.

Remodeling keeps your bones healthy much like keeping on top of home repairs keeps your house from deterioration. 

The courageous and faithful tension created by the RJ community, writers, readers, and commenters, keeps our faith from stagnating. I read and write for RJ so I can live with all of you in that tension, so my faith stays healthy and grows. 

Please consider donating to the work of the Reformed Journal so RJ can continue to faithfully and courageously create the tension that keeps us all learning and growing. 

Click on the purple box below. You’ll go to a page that explains the many ways you can support RJ financially. Give online — safely and easily. Send a check. We really hope you’ll take up our special But Wait…There’s More offer. Three, great new books mailed to you during 2026 as a token of our gratitude for your generous support.

Thank you!