The cross is the place where we find the freedom to accept ourselves without being proud and to challenge ourselves without being crushed.

If we have not seen our sin and sought radical forgiveness from God, we will be unable to forgive and to seek the good of those who have wronged us.

Jesus took the tree of death so you could have the tree of life.

The only person who dares wake up a king at 3:00 AM for a glass of water is a child. We have that kind of access

Adam wasn't lonely because he was imperfect but because he was perfect. The ache for friends is not the result of sin.

At the cross, we see the worst that sin can do, as humanity - of which each one of us is a part - crucified the Lord. But at the cross, we also see that the most that sin can do cannot thwart God's salvation.

In Ephesians 5, Paul shows us that even on earth Jesus did not use his power to oppress us but sacrificed everything to bring us into union with him. And this takes us beyond the philosophical to the personal and the practical. If God had the gospel of Jesus's salvation in mind when he established marriage, then marriage only 'works' to the degree that approximates the pattern of God's self-giving love in Christ.