The giants of the faith all had one thing in common: neither victory nor success, but passion.

In a nutshell, the Bible from Genesis 3 to Revelation 22 tells the story of a God reckless with desire to get his family back.

For me, the world of nature bears spectacular witness to the imaginative genius of our Creator.

We preach sermons, write books on apologetics, conduct city-wide evangelistic campaigns. For those alienated from the church, that approach no longer has the same drawing power. And for the truly needy, words alone don't satisfy; "A hungry person has no ears," as one relief worker told me. A skeptical world judges the truth of what we say by the proof of how we live.

Parents learn the uses of power and its limits. They can insist on certain outward behavior but cannot change inner attitudes. They can require obedience but not goodness - and certainly not love.

Any discussion of how pain and suffering fit into God's scheme ultimately leads back to the cross.

Pain narrows vision. The most private of sensations, it forces us to think of ourselves and little else.