Augustine started from God's grace and got it right, Pelagius started from human effort and got it wrong. Augustine passionately pursued God; Pelagius methodically worked to please God.

If God doesn't want something for me, then I shouldn't want it either.

Misunderstanding must be nakedly exposed before true understanding can begin to flourish.

Jesus never tried to hide his loneliness and dependence on other people. He chose his disciples not as servants but as friends. He shared moments of joy and grief with them, and asked for them in times of need. They became his family, his substitute mother and brothers and sisters. They gave up everything for him, as he had given up everything for them. He loved them, plain and simple.

And perhaps, exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit may be our very best defense against a materialist view of mankind here on earth.

The Bible never belittles human disappointment ... but it does add one key word: temporary.

The more we love, and the more unlikely people we love, the more we resemble God - who, after all, loves ornery creatures like us.