Sociologists have a theory of the looking-glass self: You become what the most important person in your life (wife, father, boss, etc.) thinks you are. How would my life change if I truly believed the Bible's astounding words about God's love for me, if I looked in the mirror and saw what God sees?
Philip YanceyIn the stories of extravagant grace given to us by Jesus, there are no loopholes disqualifying us from God's love.
Philip YanceyI rejected the church for a time because I found so little grace there. I returned because I found grace nowhere else.
Philip YanceyGrace is heartfelt, tinged with love, a spillover gift of the God who extended undeserved favor toward us.
Philip YanceyThe 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.
Philip YanceyIf we insist on visible proofs from God, we may well prepare the way for a permanent state of disappointment. True faith does not so much attempt to manipulate God to do our will as it does to position us to do his will. As I searched through the Bible for models of great faith, I was struck by how few saints experienced anything like Job's dramatic encounter with God. The rest responded to the hiddenness not by demanding that he show himself, but by going ahead and believing him though he stayed hidden.
Philip Yancey