It is because of the doctrine of judgment and hell that Jesus' proclamations of grace and love are so astounding.

Friendship is a deep oneness that develops when two people, speaking the truth in love to one another, journey together to the same horizon.

Your feelings come from where you find your hope. Where is your happiness and your significance?

Love is primarily giving. It’s an action that leads to a feeling, not a feeling first.

This is the humbling truth that lies at the heart of Christianity. We love to be our own saviors. Our hearts love to manufacture glory for themselves. So we find messages of self-salvation extremely attractive, whether they are religious (Keep these rules and you earn eternal blessing) or secular (Grab hold of these things and you’ll experience blessing now).

Gifts are abilities God gives us to meet the needs of others in Christ’s name.

When you forgive, that means you absorb the loss and the debt. You bear it yourself. All forgiveness, then, is costly.