Because Jesus came to secure for us what we could never secure for ourselves, life doesn't have to be a tireless effort to establish ourselves, justify ourselves, validate ourselves.

Rest assured: Before God, the righteousness of Christ is all we need; before God, the righteousness of Christ is all we have.

Even those of us who have tasted the radical saving grace of God find it intuitively difficult not to put conditions on grace.

Passive righteousness tells us that God does not need our good works. Active righteousness tells us that our neighbor does. The aim and direction of good works are horizontal, not vertical.

The good news of the gospel [for sufferers] is not an exhortation from above to 'hang on at all costs,' or 'grin and bear it' in the midst of hardship. No, the good news is that God is hanging on to you, and in the end, when all is said and done, the power of God will triumph over every pain and loss.

Your pain could be God prying open your life and heart to remove a gift of His that you've been on to more dearly than Him.

The world isn't scandalized by our freedom but by our fakeness.