Jesus is the author of faith, the provider of faith, and the object of faith.

If God exists then every good endeavor, even the simplest ones, pursued in response to God's calling can matter forever.

God has become human. The absolute has become particular. The ideal has become real. The divine has taken up a human nature.

The very fact that we have access to God's attention and presence should concentrate the thoughts and elevate the heart.

Jesus is the only Lord who, if you receive him, will fulfill you completely, and, if you fail him, will forgive you eternally.

If you wait until your motives are pure and unselfish before you do something, you will wait forever.

In short, the enlightenment privatized marriage, taking it out of the public sphere, and redefined its purpose as individual gratification, not any 'broader good' such as reflecting God's nature, producing character, or raising children. Slowly but surely, this newer understanding of the meaning of marriage has displaced the older ones in Western culture.