Faith in God offers no insurance against tragedy.

In the stories of extravagant grace given to us by Jesus, there are no loopholes disqualifying us from God's love.

The problem of pain meets its match in the scandal of grace.

Yet as I read the birth stories about Jesus I cannot help but conclude that though the world may be tilted toward the rich and powerful, God is tilted toward the underdog.

One of the things I found is that the things we want to say for well-intentioned motives often cause more harm than good. People don't need our words. They mainly need our presence, they need our love. And if you come in too quickly with explanations, you may do more harm than good.

The surgery of life hurts. It helps me, though, to know that the surgeon himself, the Wounded Surgeon, has felt every stab of pain and every sorrow.

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.