At the heart of the gospel is a God who deliberately surrenders to the wild, irresistable power of love.
Philip YanceyGod does not seem impressed by size or power or wealth. Faith is what he wants, and the heroes who emerge are heroes of faith, not strength or wealth.
Philip YanceyThe giants of the faith all had one thing in common: neither victory nor success, but passion.
Philip YanceyWhat a nation needs more than anything else is not a Christian ruler in the palace but a Christian prophet within earshot.
Philip YanceyJesus announced a great reversal of values in His Sermon on the Mount, elevating not the rich or attractive, but rather the poor, the persecuted, and those who mourn.
Philip YanceyIn the move The Last Emperor, the young child anointed as the last emperor of China lives a magical life of luxury with a thousand eunuch servants at his command. "What happens when you do wrong?" his brother asks. "When I do wrong, someone else is punished," the boy emperor replies. To demonstrate, he breaks a jar, and one of the servants is beaten. In Christian theology, Jesus reversed that ancient pattern: when the servants erred, the King was punished. Grace is free only because the giver himself has borned the cost.
Philip Yancey