In Love's Service, Only Wounded Soldiers Can

Childlike Surrender And Trust, I Believe, Is The Defining Spirit Of Authentic Discipleship.

At Sunday Worship, As In Every Dimension Of Our Existence, Many Of Us Pretend To Believe We Are Sinners. Consequently, All We Can Do Is Pretend We Have Been Forgiven. As A Result, Our Whole Spiritual Life Is Pseudo-repentance And Pseudo-bliss.

Without Fear I Can Acknowledge That The Authentic Christian Tension Is Not Between Life And Death, But Between Life And Life.

The Conversation Of Most Middle-class Americans, We Are Told, Revolves Around Consumption: What To Buy, What Was Just Bought, Where To Eat, The Price Of The Neighbor's House, What's On Sale This Week, Our Clothes Or Someone Else's, The Best Car On The Market This Year, Where To Spend A Vacation. Apparently We Can't Stop Eating, Shopping, Or Consuming. Success Is Measured Not In Terms Of Love, Wisdom, And Maturity But By The Size Of One's Pile Of Possessions.

Do You Believe That The God Of Jesus Loves You Beyond Worthiness And Unworthiness, Beyond Fidelity And Infidelity—that He Loves You In The Morning Sun And In The Evening Rain—that He Loves You When Your Intellect Denies It, Your Emotions Refuse It, Your Whole Being Rejects It. Do You Believe That God Loves Without Condition Or Reservation And Loves You This Moment As You Are And Not As You Should Be.