I see the confusion of politics and religion as one of the greatest barriers to grace. C. S. Lewis once said that almost all crimes of Christian history have come about when religion is confused with...
I know of only two alternatives to hypocrisy: perfection or honesty.
I am forced to reexamine. Thomas Merton’s words about the Bible in general apply to the Old Testament in particular: There is, in a word, nothing comfortable about the Bible—until we manage to get so...
How differently will I relate to the uncommitted if I view them not as evil or unsaved but rather as lost.
God shattered the inexorable law of sin and retribution by invading earth, absorbing the worst we had to offer, crucifixion, and then fashioning from that cruel deed the remedy for the human condition...
Even in post-Christian societies the gospel will continue to do its subversive work. Jesus used small things to describe his kingdom: a sprinkling of yeast that causes the whole loaf to rise, a pinch...
Earth is crammed with heaven And every bush aflame with God But only those who see take off their shoes. —ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING
Do you know the difference between an optimist and a pessimist? A pessimist says, ‘Oh dear, things can’t possibly get any worse.’ An optimist says, ‘Don’t be so sad. Things can always get worse.
When we make condescending judgments, or proclaim lofty words that don’t translate into action, or simply speak without first listening, we fail to love — and thus deter a thirsty world from Living W...
When I pray, coincidences happen, said Archbishop William Temple; when I don’t, they don’t.
The uncommitted share many of our core values, but if we do not live out those values in a compelling way, we will not awaken a thirst for their ultimate Source.
The only hope for any of us, regardless of our particular sins, lies in a ruthless trust in a God who inexplicably loves sinners, including those who sin differently than we do.
The law did not encourage obedience, rather it magnified disobedience. Law merely indicated the sickness; grace brought about the cure.
The late Kurt Vonnegut, the satirical American author, wrote: For some reason, the most vocal Christians among us never mention the beatitudes. But—often with tears in their eyes—they demand that the...
The gospel presents both high ideals and all-encompassing grace. Very often, however, the church tilts one direction or the other. Either it lowers the ideals, adjusting moral standards downward, soft...
The church is, above all, a place to receive grace: it brings forgiven people together with the aim of equipping us to dispense grace to others.
The atheistic philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche was once asked what made him so negative toward Christians. He replied, I would believe in their salvation if they looked a little more like people who ha...
Suffering can never ultimately be meaningless, because God has shared it.
Some people find no comfort in the prophets’ vision of a future world. The church has used that line for centuries to justify slavery, oppression, and all manner of injustice, they say. The criticism...
Prayer is the act of seeing reality from God’s point of view.