You Never Know When You Might Be

Two Questions I Can't Really Answer About Fiction Are 1) Where It Comes From, And 2) Why We Need It. But That We Do Create It And Also Crave It Is Beyond Dispute.

A Sermon Is A Valuable Thing Now And So Impressive When You Do Hear A Good One - And There Is A Lot Of Failure In The Attempt; It's A Difficult Form - Is Because It's So Seldom True Now That You Hear People Speak Under Circumstances Where They Assume They Are Obliged To Speak Seriously And In Good Faith, And The People Who Hear Them Are Assumed To Be Listening Seriously And In Good Faith.

This Is Not To Say That Joy Is A Compensation For Loss, But That Each Of Them, Joy And Loss, Exists In Its Own Right And Must Be Recognised For What It Is ... So Joy Can Be Joy And Sorrow Can Be Sorrow, With Neither Of Them Casting Either Light Or Shadow On The Other.

When Things Are Taking Their Ordinary Course, It Is Hard To Remember What Matters. There Are So Many Things You Would Never Think To Tell Anyone. And I Believe They May Be The Things That Mean Most To You, And That Even Your Own Child Would Have To Know In Order To Know You Well At All.

The Only Obligation I Recognize Is To Say What I Believe To Be True [ ] And To Say It With Kindness. I Believe That Is How A Christian Conversation Should Proceed.