When we start being too impressed by the results of our work, we erroneously come to the conviction that life is one large scoreboard, where someone is listing the points to measure our worth. And before we are fully aware of it, we have sold our soul to the many...
We must not worship without study, for ignorant worship is of limited value and can be very dangerous. We may develop “a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge” (Rom.10:2) and do great harm to ourselves and others. But worship must be added to study to complete...
The contemporary obsession with spirituality, among Christians and pagans alike, surely betokens something worthy of the church’s attention. I am not convinced, however, that the current vogue for spirituality should be embraced without making important historical and...
Worship is right because God is worthy of it; it is the best of all antidotes to our own self-centeredness, the most effective way to “disinfect us of egotism,” as one writer put it long ago. In true worship we turn the searchlight of our mind and heart upon God and...
The rare moment is not the moment when there is something worth looking at but the moment when we are capable of seeing.
Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody’s business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy if...
Somehow losing myself helped me find my truer self; losing love helped me learn to love more fully and authentically; failing in relationship taught me much about being in relationship in a creative, nurturing way; and experiencing broken trust revealed how precious...
People view hospitality as quaint and tame partly because they do not understand the power of recognition. When a person who is not valued by society is received by a socially respected person or group as a human being with dignity and worth, small transformations...
But the Gospel doesn’t need a coalition devoted to keeping the wrong people out. It needs a family of sinners, saved by grace, committed to tearing down the walls, throwing open the doors, and shouting, “Welcome! There’s bread and wine. Come eat with us and talk.”...
I think midlife is when the universe gently places her hands upon your shoulders, pulls you close, and whispers in your ear: “I’m not screwing around. It’s time. All of this pretending and performing—these coping mechanisms that you’ve developed to protect yourself...