There is no coming to consciousness without pain. People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own Soul. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.
[written during the Bubonic plague of the 1500s] I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I will fumigate, purify the air, administer medicine, and take medicine. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order to not become...
No one in this world is pure and perfect. If you avoid people for their mistakes, you will be alone in this world.
As Paul said, “We see through a glass, darkly” (1 Cor. 13:12 KJV). If we remember that, we might be able to avoid turning our fallible interpretations into infallible declarations of God’s truth. And yet we will continue to seek God’s truth, in the Bible and beyond....
A church that doesn't provoke any crisis, a gospel that doesn't unsettle, a Word of God that doesn't get under anyone's skin, what kind of gospel is that? Preachers who avoid every thorny matter so as not to be harassed do not light up the world.
For a good confession three things are necessary: an examination of conscience, sorrow, and a determination to avoid sin.