We can handle God as long as he stays God. We can build him a fountain. But when he becomes a man we have to give him a cup of water. from The Substance of Faith —————————-Gender-neutral version: We can handle God as long as God stays God. We can build God a fountain....
Is my understanding of prayer similar to the “spiritual warfare” practiced by some evangelicals and charismatics? Yes, to the extent that I agree that prayer should be imperative and aggressive. We should be engaged to alter the spirituality of families, corporations,...
The pageant proceeded as scheduled—Angels, Shepherds, Wise Men, Mary, Joseph, the Christ Child—Children reciting their lines while parents beam with pride. The lights dim, children freeze in place; all is quiet. Then the children get up and leave; the pageant is over....
With that we are faced with the shocking reality: Jesus stands at the door and knocks, in complete reality. He asks you for help in the form of a beggar, in the form of a ruined human being in torn clothing. He confronts you in every person that you meet. He walks on...
There was a common saying in Germany just before the Nazi reign. “The human body contains a sufficient amount of fat to make seven cakes of soap, enough iron to make a medium-sized nail, a sufficient amount of phosphorous for two thousand match-heads, enough sulfur to...
Restless people who seek signs and wonders are often unable to accept the commonplace as a gift that is not so commonplace. The genuinely miraculous character of life itself, the web of loving relationships that are a part of that life, and the gift of human...
Nevertheless it is possible, in the midst of the limits and transitoriness of human existence, to make societies which are more liberating and less oppressive, and hence closer to the kingdom. To deny this is to deny all efficacy to God in history, to make the world...
Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees the others.
Each of us must discover the directions in which we will find fulfillment. This is—or ought to be—the goal of a lifelong education: not merely to make a living but to find out what living is for. With that understanding, it becomes more obvious that holiness, the full...
I used to say that if I ever wrote a book, its title would be Nothing Truly Radical Happens After Age Six, Except Grace. Grace, that experience of unconditional love, breaks through the whole system and can change anything. All of Christian life could be described as...