The truth is that God could have forgiven my past and given me assurance of heaven and yet kept me at arm's length. He could have made me a mere servant in his kingdom household — and even that would have been more than I merited. But his grace is far more outrageous than that.

How does one balance the fallen and redeemed aspects of life in the artistic portrayal of human experience in the world?

But because we don't trust Jesus to do what He says He will do, or believe that He is who He says He is, or have not caught a glimpse of His infinite glory, we sit at drawing boards and draw up programs and methods and draft strategies that we hope might bring people to Christ. But Jesus could not have been clearer: the only begotten Son of God4 is the draw.

There it is . . . Our God declares the end in the beginning. In Christ, God loved us before we loved him, caught us before we fell, forgave us before we asked, clothed us in righteousness before we realized we were naked, and cleansed us before we were aware of our filth. God called those who were enemies, aliens, and strangers his very own children and friends. And wrote the story of our life before we drew our first breath.

fail a stringent code of ethics and that none of us was capable of earning a place of honor.

Grace is not something for which I must look in my heart. It is in the heart of God.

The proof of spiritual maturity is not how pure you are but awareness of your impurity. That very awareness opens the door to grace.

The sinless One took on the face of a sinner so that we sinners could take on the face of a saint.

The people of God do not serve Him in order to be forgiven but because we are forgiven.

No man can resolve himself into Heaven.

Eternal life is not a gift from God; eternal life is the gift OF GOD.

The last business of Christ's life was the saving of a poor penitent thief.