Goodness cannot be imposed externally, from the top down; it must grow internally, from the bottom up.

The world thirsts for grace. When grace descends, the world falls silent before it.

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.

I ask God most often that we would be an unbroken line of Christians until Christ shall return.

You can know the law by heart without knowing the heart of it

Christians have an important role to play in contending that no human life is "devoid of value." We can do so through courageous protest, as happened in Germany, as well, as in compassionate care for the most vulnerable members of society, as Mother Teresa did. In both approaches theology - what one believes about God and human life - matters. The world desperately needs that good news.

If we comprehend what Christ has done for us, then surely out of gratitude we will strive to live 'worthy' of such great love. We will strive for holiness not to make God love us but because He already does.