At the center of the Christian tradition since the first church have been a number who insist that history is not tragic, hell is not forever, and love, in the end, wins and all will be reconciled to God.

The hardness of the human heart makes no sense.

It's absolutely crucial that we come face to face with the power of our choices.

My parents were both very intellectually honest, straightforward, and for them, faith meant that you were fully engaged.

For a lot of people in our world today, God has become about believing the right stuff so you don't get in trouble.

We can choose the way of compassion, the way of forgiveness, the way of generosity. Or we can choose other paths and those have very real consequences in the world. This is absolutely crucial.

The peace we are offered is not a peace that is free from tragedy, illness, bankruptcy, divorce, depression, or heartache. It is peace rooted in the trust that the life Jesus gives us is deeper, wider, stronger, and more enduring than whatever our current circumstances are, because all we see is not all there is and the last word about us and our struggle has not yet been spoken.