God's grace is so counterintuitive and everything we do in our life is just based on conditions. You do this for me and I'll do that for you. Or if you don't do this for me, I won't do that for you. And God's grace works in a completely different direction.

The passive righteousness of faith frees me from passing final judgment on myself.

The gospel frees you from the pressure of having to fix people: your worth is located in Christ, not in their transformation.

Grief, of course, is not something that operates according to a specific time frame, and it seems cold to suggest otherwise. Yet when we do not grasp that God is present in pain, we eventually insist on victory or, worse, blame the sufferer for not "getting over it" fast enough. This is more than a failure to extend compassion; it's an exercise in cruelty.

Don't get me wrong - what we do is important. But it is infinitely less important than what Jesus has done for us.

The emphasis of the Bible is on the work of the Redeemer, not on the work of the redeemed.

The gospel is good news to those who know they don't measure up. It's offensive to those who think they do.