Those who condemn the self-righteous for the sake of self-discovery do so with ironic self-righteousness.

God so loved us and hates suffering that he was willing to come down and get involved in it.

To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us.

A life of gratitude to God for being saved is far more pleasing than a life based on self-righteousness over being good.

Jesus warns people far more often about greed than about sex, yet almost no one thinks they are guilty of it.

Idolatry happens when we take good things and make them ultimate things

Love without truth is sentimentality; it supports and affirms us but keeps us in denial about our flaws. Truth without love is harshness; it gives us information but in such a way that we cannot really hear it. God's saving love in Christ, however, is marked by both radical truthfulness about who we are and yet also radical, unconditional commitment to us. The merciful commitment strengthens us to see the truth about ourselves and repent. The conviction and repentance moves us to cling to and rest in God's mercy and grace.