Sometimes I think this thing about grace cannot be captured through writing blogs or books. It can't be contained in any digital, electronic or physical form. Because there is nothing to be 'seen'. We can't make a movie about grace or God's love. If we try to do so, we will do injustice to the depth of His love. There is nothing 'flashy' about this. We can't add a 'mega' to it and make it to the headlines. His kingdom is unseen; there aren’t big buildings and flashy people. It’s about ordinary people living in a relationship with Jesus.
Jesus was the same. He chose ‘Bethlehem’ to be born. A barn was Mary's 'labor and recovery' room and a manger was Jesus's comfy crib. Mary herself was an ordinary woman. Jesus was extraordinary by being ordinary, He chose everything ordinary or even below ordinary. That's true about His love. If it was today, the mainstream media wouldn't probably notice. Who would care what is happening in a tiny town in a tiny country? There might be some local news papers making fun of the 'carpenter-turned-spiritual-guru' who was born out of wed-lock and of his ‘weird’ set of disciples.
He didn't build mega churches and wasn't the most influential evangelical Christian. The entire nation didn’t admire Him. He was a regular guy – mostly homeless, hungry, thirsty and ultimately was killed like a criminal. His message wasn’t about material prosperity. It wasn’t about finding happiness in the ‘stuff’ of this world. He didn’t mail out letters seeking ‘partners’ for His ministry. His message wasn’t about how to make the best out of this world. He said, we are in the world but not of the world. He said he came with a sword to make divisions. Do you think today’s politically correct crowd would accept someone who says he is here to make divisions?
I can tell you from my experience, grace does make divisions. It is true.
Jesus wasn’t necessarily eloquent and didn’t posses much charisma. He talked straight. He was blunt. He was not politically correct. He didn’t give the expected answers for their questions. I doubt he was even good looking despite the fact that some of the movies and pictures portray Him as handsome and attractive.
Why is the people who has accepted the grace of God, a minority? And probably going to be a minority always? Because grace isn’t flashy! Grace is about love and it’s about RECEIVING love, it isn’t about earning or achieving, thus it goes against the grain of the religion of ‘self improvement’. It is about humility. It’s about laying down our pride of self-righteousness and accepting the GIFT of righteousness. It is not about ’10 spiritual things you can do to improve the quality of your life’. It isn’t about ‘christ-centered yoga’ to improve your devotional life. It isn’t about ’21 Christian principles for a prosperous life’. Instead, it is about REST. It is about being contented in ALL the circumstances.
Does this world know, what is it being contented in all circumstances? This world would call a person who is not working his butt off, a fool or lazy. This is true in religion as well. If you aren’t a ‘hardworking’ minister, you are probably not eligible to be a minister. Who would hire you if you don’t have a thick resume?
I have stopped looking for a big group of people with whom I can validate my faith because I am convinced that I would be part of a minority as long as I live under grace. I can’t make grace enough flashy to attract people to this message.
I can tell only the truth.
Grace is not going to fix all your problems in this world. Grace is not going to make you rich. Grace is not going to heal you from all your sicknesses. Grace is not going to make you famous. Grace is not going to make you happy all the time. Grace is not going to make you achieve sinless perfection. Throw all those unrealistic expectations out of the window and come to Jesus empty handed and here is the thing: your deep longing to be loved and accepted will be met in Him. Guaranteed! And for eternity He will never leave you nor forsake you. You will be perfectly loved as you are right now, right here without making any behavior changes or self improvements. You will be safe in His hands.
Isn't it 'weird' that someone accepting and loving us perfectly and unconditionally with all our of shortcomings, weaknesses and pettiness?
Showing posts with label Love of Christ. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Love of Christ. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Thursday, October 23, 2008
The ABC’s of salvation
Next to the main entrance of the church we attended few years ago, there was a table and a stack of fliers on it. It was a one page printout titled ‘ABC’s of salvation’, and below the title, the subsequent lines explained what it means.
A – Accept
B – Believe
C – Confess
To elaborate,
A – Accept you are a sinner.
B – Believe in Jesus.
C – Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord.
Do these three steps – You are saved!
Wow!
There were references to bible verses with each step. When I first saw it, I was fascinated by the simplicity of the salvation formula derived from a big book like Bible. I took one copy for myself thinking that I might use this formula to get others saved. I had never seen it simplified like this before. The reason I was fascinated, that my finite brain is always inclined to the ideologies listed as bullet points. It’s easy to read, grasp, teach and share. Also I like the exact ‘science’ of anything.
Now, here is the question I want to pose:
What are the things you need to believe or do in order to fall in love with a girl?
Here is my answer,
1. Get to know her
2. ---------
3. ---------
Hmm… There is no exact science! I don’t know how to put it into bullet points! Love is not a set of statements defined on a piece of paper. There are things which cannot be explained, there are things which cannot be put into words. There are no step 1, 2, 3…There are no schools on the face of the earth who can teach me the science of falling in love.
Isn’t it amazing that we shortened the 66 books of the Bible into few bullet points hoping that we are summarizing it exactly? Has Jesus ever given us a formula? Has the Apostles?
Isn’t salvation nothing but falling in love with Jesus? And isn’t it true that the way I fall in love is NOT the way you fall in love?
How come we reduced this amazing love of God into a step by step process?
1. Listen to a sermon
2. Respond to the altar call
3. Repent of your sins
4. Invite Jesus into heart
5. Pray Sinner's prayer
6. Fill out the decision card
7. Join a church
8. Get baptized in their water by their pastor
9. Seek the gift of tongues (if you are a Charismatic)
10. Submit to the authority of your pastor and believe and do everything he says until your last breath.
What if the salvation is none of these? What if salvation is simply accepting a gift of love from the creator of the universe? What if Bible is not a book of ideologies, but a love letter?
Yes, I admit I am tempted to make everything into an exact science. But that's because I am dumb! Let ever my dumbness negate the essence and beauty of the love of Jesus!
When I itemize the steps for getting saved and staying saved, I am missing the whole point – the whole point of love. It might make my evangelism easier. It might help me to succeed in my Systematic Theology class. But what is the point if I am missing the love? What ideology can truly transform a heart other than genuine love?
I find it increasingly difficult to explain love, grace, faith, hope etc. People look for formulaic answers, but I just don't have it. I mean, I might just say - "I know Jesus loves you; and I hope you will come to know this truth." Is it over-simplified? I don't know!
A – Accept
B – Believe
C – Confess
To elaborate,
A – Accept you are a sinner.
B – Believe in Jesus.
C – Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord.
Do these three steps – You are saved!
Wow!
There were references to bible verses with each step. When I first saw it, I was fascinated by the simplicity of the salvation formula derived from a big book like Bible. I took one copy for myself thinking that I might use this formula to get others saved. I had never seen it simplified like this before. The reason I was fascinated, that my finite brain is always inclined to the ideologies listed as bullet points. It’s easy to read, grasp, teach and share. Also I like the exact ‘science’ of anything.
Now, here is the question I want to pose:
What are the things you need to believe or do in order to fall in love with a girl?
Here is my answer,
1. Get to know her
2. ---------
3. ---------
Hmm… There is no exact science! I don’t know how to put it into bullet points! Love is not a set of statements defined on a piece of paper. There are things which cannot be explained, there are things which cannot be put into words. There are no step 1, 2, 3…There are no schools on the face of the earth who can teach me the science of falling in love.
Isn’t it amazing that we shortened the 66 books of the Bible into few bullet points hoping that we are summarizing it exactly? Has Jesus ever given us a formula? Has the Apostles?
Isn’t salvation nothing but falling in love with Jesus? And isn’t it true that the way I fall in love is NOT the way you fall in love?
How come we reduced this amazing love of God into a step by step process?
1. Listen to a sermon
2. Respond to the altar call
3. Repent of your sins
4. Invite Jesus into heart
5. Pray Sinner's prayer
6. Fill out the decision card
7. Join a church
8. Get baptized in their water by their pastor
9. Seek the gift of tongues (if you are a Charismatic)
10. Submit to the authority of your pastor and believe and do everything he says until your last breath.
What if the salvation is none of these? What if salvation is simply accepting a gift of love from the creator of the universe? What if Bible is not a book of ideologies, but a love letter?
Yes, I admit I am tempted to make everything into an exact science. But that's because I am dumb! Let ever my dumbness negate the essence and beauty of the love of Jesus!
When I itemize the steps for getting saved and staying saved, I am missing the whole point – the whole point of love. It might make my evangelism easier. It might help me to succeed in my Systematic Theology class. But what is the point if I am missing the love? What ideology can truly transform a heart other than genuine love?
I find it increasingly difficult to explain love, grace, faith, hope etc. People look for formulaic answers, but I just don't have it. I mean, I might just say - "I know Jesus loves you; and I hope you will come to know this truth." Is it over-simplified? I don't know!
Friday, April 25, 2008
The real Jesus and real people
I have a high respect towards those who choose to live a monastic way of life, isolating themselves from the world for seeking spiritual truths. I am not saying all of them are genuine cases, some may be influenced by hallucinations and mistake it as truth. During my teenage years and early twenties, I wanted to go to the mountains and write poems. I wasn’t really ‘spiritual’ but I always had a tendency to be alone. Solitude can be very soothing and refreshing to me (even today). Jesus took time to withdraw Himself from the crowd and Bible says, early in the morning He went to the mountains to pray.
To me, that is a dream. I have no such luxury in life (at least as of now). I am consistently tossed back and forth between work, home, bills and problems. Apart from few isolated moments of spirituality, I have nothing much to claim that I have experienced the presence of God. The feelings such as no enough prayer, no enough Bible reading are so very common in life and to be honest I feel guilty about it some time. The other day my wife asked me if I have ever felt that God directly speaking to me. Well, I had to think hard to remember at least one occasion.
I understand how monks can be spiritual. But, can the rest of us be spiritual? Can I be spiritual when I have a leaking basement, unpaid bills and a car with transmission problems? What about those who have mentally challenged kids, teenagers with behavioral problems, old age parents, life threatening sickness, divorce issues, disabilities, addictions and condemning church members? Can they be spiritual?
I am talking about real people with real problems. The messy, rejected and depressed. I am not talking about those who appear as if they have figured everything out in life. I am not talking about those super religious, extraordinary, disciplined, "church potato"s. I am talking about the people who are messed up in life and in need of rescue. I am talking about the people who agree that they do not experience the presence of God in their life, no matter how hard they try. I am talking about the people who have been ridiculed by the ‘super religious’ saying that the cause of their problems are their lack of faith. Can they be spiritual?
The answer is YES. Those are the kind Jesus need. He came for the sick and He hanged out with such kind. The kind of people society rejects – sinners, lepers, blind, prostitutes, tax collectors, homeless, weary and laden…
He went to the midst of them, loved, hugged and supped with them. He wasn’t doing the ‘extraordinary’ charity, it was normal to Him; He loved the messy, weary and heavy laden. Folks, this is what gives me hope, that He can love me right in the midst of all my nonspiritual, unworthiness.
He loves me even when I am devastated in the crowded busyness of my life. He loves me right through my unbelief, sins and bad temper. There is nothing I can do to stop Him from loving me. I can boast in His love because it is solid, unwavering and unshakable. I can't help but thank Him for the of the rest of my life.
I am tired of listening to those double talking, rigid hearted, hypocritical, judgmental pharisees. I am sorry, I am only interested in real people. Don't come to me with a lie that I need to get all my acts clean for Jesus to love me. I am not interested in such a 'made up', 'religious' Jesus. I want the real Jesus, the Jesus whom the Bible proclaims!
I am convinced that there is hope for any sinner. Jesus forgave those who killed Him; and believe me you aren't as bad as them. Our messiness has value in the sight of God (and only in the sight of God). The problems, confusion, questions we face have value in the sight of God. In EVERYTHING, even in our sins, He works for our good.
"Everything--great, small, important, unimportant, distant, and near--has its place, its meaning, and its value. Through union with Him...nothing is wasted, nothing is missing. There is never a moment that does not carry eternal significance--no action that is sterile, no love that lacks fruition, and no prayer that is unheard." - Brennan Manning
He sees the desires of our heart, the desire to get out of the mess we are in and He respect that desire, not necessarily by pulling us right out of it, but by loving us right through it...
To me, that is a dream. I have no such luxury in life (at least as of now). I am consistently tossed back and forth between work, home, bills and problems. Apart from few isolated moments of spirituality, I have nothing much to claim that I have experienced the presence of God. The feelings such as no enough prayer, no enough Bible reading are so very common in life and to be honest I feel guilty about it some time. The other day my wife asked me if I have ever felt that God directly speaking to me. Well, I had to think hard to remember at least one occasion.
I understand how monks can be spiritual. But, can the rest of us be spiritual? Can I be spiritual when I have a leaking basement, unpaid bills and a car with transmission problems? What about those who have mentally challenged kids, teenagers with behavioral problems, old age parents, life threatening sickness, divorce issues, disabilities, addictions and condemning church members? Can they be spiritual?
I am talking about real people with real problems. The messy, rejected and depressed. I am not talking about those who appear as if they have figured everything out in life. I am not talking about those super religious, extraordinary, disciplined, "church potato"s. I am talking about the people who are messed up in life and in need of rescue. I am talking about the people who agree that they do not experience the presence of God in their life, no matter how hard they try. I am talking about the people who have been ridiculed by the ‘super religious’ saying that the cause of their problems are their lack of faith. Can they be spiritual?
The answer is YES. Those are the kind Jesus need. He came for the sick and He hanged out with such kind. The kind of people society rejects – sinners, lepers, blind, prostitutes, tax collectors, homeless, weary and laden…
He went to the midst of them, loved, hugged and supped with them. He wasn’t doing the ‘extraordinary’ charity, it was normal to Him; He loved the messy, weary and heavy laden. Folks, this is what gives me hope, that He can love me right in the midst of all my nonspiritual, unworthiness.
He loves me even when I am devastated in the crowded busyness of my life. He loves me right through my unbelief, sins and bad temper. There is nothing I can do to stop Him from loving me. I can boast in His love because it is solid, unwavering and unshakable. I can't help but thank Him for the of the rest of my life.
I am tired of listening to those double talking, rigid hearted, hypocritical, judgmental pharisees. I am sorry, I am only interested in real people. Don't come to me with a lie that I need to get all my acts clean for Jesus to love me. I am not interested in such a 'made up', 'religious' Jesus. I want the real Jesus, the Jesus whom the Bible proclaims!
I am convinced that there is hope for any sinner. Jesus forgave those who killed Him; and believe me you aren't as bad as them. Our messiness has value in the sight of God (and only in the sight of God). The problems, confusion, questions we face have value in the sight of God. In EVERYTHING, even in our sins, He works for our good.
"Everything--great, small, important, unimportant, distant, and near--has its place, its meaning, and its value. Through union with Him...nothing is wasted, nothing is missing. There is never a moment that does not carry eternal significance--no action that is sterile, no love that lacks fruition, and no prayer that is unheard." - Brennan Manning
He sees the desires of our heart, the desire to get out of the mess we are in and He respect that desire, not necessarily by pulling us right out of it, but by loving us right through it...
Monday, April 7, 2008
The life of an impostor
Sometimes I still have to try desperately to convince myself that God loves me just as I am. Yes, all the doctrines are there to help me. But beyond the lifelessness of doctrines, I want the love of Jesus to be real. I admit I am an impostor in this world, acting different roles to different people. I have one face at home, another one at work. There is nothing in this world, which would let me be just myself. I have a desperate need deep inside my heart to be loved, which would be the only thing brings fulfillment and true purpose to my life. I am a poser to the world, but I don't want to be one to my Lord. I don't want to make any false claims that I know everything about His grace and unconditional love. The truth is I still have no clue what it really really means. It takes more than a lifetime to figure out the love of Jesus. I know it is true and I am convinced that it is there, but I just don't get my hands around it most of my life.
I started the life of an impostor the day on which I was born. I showed the sings of it by crying when I was hungry. I started learning to ‘consume’ from the very first day of my life. Life taught me how to pose myself to different type of audience. I acted as a 'nice' student to earn the love of my teachers, I acted as a 'cool' guy to earn the love of my friends, I lied and exaggerated my skills to the employer to get a job; I posed as if I knew everything about the tools and skills needed to do my job and succeeded to win his approval. I did everything I can in my strength to impress the girl I met to earn her as my wife. I posed as if I am the biggest lover in the world and was quite successful in convincing her. Each success of my poser encouraged me to pose more. I could never be just myself, I always felt that the true ‘me’ wouldn't fit anywhere in this world. Nothing in this world, regardless of my posing and acting filled the hollowness and emptiness in my heart. Nothing! But I feared that, if I stop acting I cease to exist.
After becoming a Christian I became a religious impostor, acting holy and ‘nice’. Not even a single person whom I came across during the span of life thus far taught me to be authentic and real. What a stressful life to live! I tried to produce smile on my naturally smile-less face and failed. I tried to ‘be in peace’ in my naturally restless mind and utterly failed. I tried to suppress my anger to make my loved ones around me feel good, but failed miserably. Why did I try those? To earn love of others! What other proof do we need that there is a deep necessity of love in human heart? That’s the deep cry of a human soul - to be loved by somebody. They will go to any extend to earn it. The fake nature of humanity is exposed (but suppressed) in the pursuit of love. The life of a people pleaser is quite an ugly life. During the course of my life in this world, every fiber in my body learned to present myself in ‘nice’ package to the world to be accepted by it. I can never, ever be myself at my work place. I can never, ever be myself at home. I can never, ever be myself at church. It is a long journey started by trying to please my parents, then my friends, then teachers, boss, co-workers, pastor, church members, spouse, kids and it will continue till the day I die still wondering whether I really pleased any of them! The entire world is dancing around me, trying to consume everything from me, in the middle I am standing desperately unable to provide what they need. On the other hand, I play the same role of consumer to others looking for love, acceptance and approval from them. And so far none could fulfill it.
"Do you really know how much God loves you?" No, I still don’t. I know He loves me but I haven’t figured the depth of it. If I did, why the impostor is still active in me?
Why am I silent when I see injustice right in front of my eyes? Why is it still a struggle for me to say ‘no’ to others? Why I am tempted to exaggerate my resume?
God can’t do anything about the impostor, because it is a ‘false self’. It is not there in reality but I am haunted by the strength of that nonexistent being. How strange is that? When will I be truly truly free? I am almost losing my hope that it is going to happen during my life in this world. I know there is nothing hidden to God, but there are a whole lot of things hidden to others. Who I am afraid of? The impostor?
Jesus, thank you for making me a new creation. Now, teach me to live as one. Teach me to be faithful to that new being. I still don’t know how much you truly love me and as a workaround I drag this impostor all along with me all the time. The only solution to get rid of this poser is to know how much you truly love me. I want to settle on the issue of your love not just in theory but in true life. I can’t do it. So do it for me. Impress your love in my heart in a convincing way so that I can take the pressure of the poser off of my head and live a free life as you intended. I am tasting it little by little like a dog drinking from the ocean, but its not enough to get rid of the false self. I tried to find a solution in the religious world but that was the place where I met some of the biggest impostors in my life. I just don't want to be one of them. I want to run as fast as I can into your arms and know for sure that I am loved and totally accepted in my sinfulness, weaknesses and all the negatives in me. You are the one who made me as a brand new being, clothed me with your righteousness and seated me with you in the heveanlies, now I want to live that life here on earth as a true restored human, expressing your love, encouraging others to see the life on the other side of the impostor in them.
I started the life of an impostor the day on which I was born. I showed the sings of it by crying when I was hungry. I started learning to ‘consume’ from the very first day of my life. Life taught me how to pose myself to different type of audience. I acted as a 'nice' student to earn the love of my teachers, I acted as a 'cool' guy to earn the love of my friends, I lied and exaggerated my skills to the employer to get a job; I posed as if I knew everything about the tools and skills needed to do my job and succeeded to win his approval. I did everything I can in my strength to impress the girl I met to earn her as my wife. I posed as if I am the biggest lover in the world and was quite successful in convincing her. Each success of my poser encouraged me to pose more. I could never be just myself, I always felt that the true ‘me’ wouldn't fit anywhere in this world. Nothing in this world, regardless of my posing and acting filled the hollowness and emptiness in my heart. Nothing! But I feared that, if I stop acting I cease to exist.
After becoming a Christian I became a religious impostor, acting holy and ‘nice’. Not even a single person whom I came across during the span of life thus far taught me to be authentic and real. What a stressful life to live! I tried to produce smile on my naturally smile-less face and failed. I tried to ‘be in peace’ in my naturally restless mind and utterly failed. I tried to suppress my anger to make my loved ones around me feel good, but failed miserably. Why did I try those? To earn love of others! What other proof do we need that there is a deep necessity of love in human heart? That’s the deep cry of a human soul - to be loved by somebody. They will go to any extend to earn it. The fake nature of humanity is exposed (but suppressed) in the pursuit of love. The life of a people pleaser is quite an ugly life. During the course of my life in this world, every fiber in my body learned to present myself in ‘nice’ package to the world to be accepted by it. I can never, ever be myself at my work place. I can never, ever be myself at home. I can never, ever be myself at church. It is a long journey started by trying to please my parents, then my friends, then teachers, boss, co-workers, pastor, church members, spouse, kids and it will continue till the day I die still wondering whether I really pleased any of them! The entire world is dancing around me, trying to consume everything from me, in the middle I am standing desperately unable to provide what they need. On the other hand, I play the same role of consumer to others looking for love, acceptance and approval from them. And so far none could fulfill it.
"Do you really know how much God loves you?" No, I still don’t. I know He loves me but I haven’t figured the depth of it. If I did, why the impostor is still active in me?
Why am I silent when I see injustice right in front of my eyes? Why is it still a struggle for me to say ‘no’ to others? Why I am tempted to exaggerate my resume?
God can’t do anything about the impostor, because it is a ‘false self’. It is not there in reality but I am haunted by the strength of that nonexistent being. How strange is that? When will I be truly truly free? I am almost losing my hope that it is going to happen during my life in this world. I know there is nothing hidden to God, but there are a whole lot of things hidden to others. Who I am afraid of? The impostor?
Jesus, thank you for making me a new creation. Now, teach me to live as one. Teach me to be faithful to that new being. I still don’t know how much you truly love me and as a workaround I drag this impostor all along with me all the time. The only solution to get rid of this poser is to know how much you truly love me. I want to settle on the issue of your love not just in theory but in true life. I can’t do it. So do it for me. Impress your love in my heart in a convincing way so that I can take the pressure of the poser off of my head and live a free life as you intended. I am tasting it little by little like a dog drinking from the ocean, but its not enough to get rid of the false self. I tried to find a solution in the religious world but that was the place where I met some of the biggest impostors in my life. I just don't want to be one of them. I want to run as fast as I can into your arms and know for sure that I am loved and totally accepted in my sinfulness, weaknesses and all the negatives in me. You are the one who made me as a brand new being, clothed me with your righteousness and seated me with you in the heveanlies, now I want to live that life here on earth as a true restored human, expressing your love, encouraging others to see the life on the other side of the impostor in them.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ...
The question which the gospel of grace puts to us is simply this: Who shall separate you from the love of Christ?
What are you afraid of?
Are you afraid that your weakness could separate you from the love of love of Christ?
It can't.
Are you afraid that your inadequacies could separate you from the love of love of Christ? They can't.
Are you afraid that your inner poverty could separate you from the love of love of Christ? It can't.
Difficult marriage, loneliness, anxiety over the children's future? They can't.
Negative self image? It can't.
Economic hardship, racial hatred, street crime? They can't.
Rejection by loved ones or the suffering of loved ones? They can't.
Persecution by authorities, going to jail? They can't.
Nuclear war? They can't.
Mistakes, fear, uncertainties? They can't.
They gospel of grace calls out: Nothing can ever separate you from the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord.
You must be convinced of this, trust it, and never forget to remember. Everything else will pass away, but the love of Christ is same yesterday, today, and forever. Faith will become vision, hope will become possession, but the love of Jesus Christ that is stronger than death endures forever. In the end, it is the only thing you can hang onto. - Brennan Manning (The Ragamuffin Gospel)
What are you afraid of?
Are you afraid that your weakness could separate you from the love of love of Christ?
It can't.
Are you afraid that your inadequacies could separate you from the love of love of Christ? They can't.
Are you afraid that your inner poverty could separate you from the love of love of Christ? It can't.
Difficult marriage, loneliness, anxiety over the children's future? They can't.
Negative self image? It can't.
Economic hardship, racial hatred, street crime? They can't.
Rejection by loved ones or the suffering of loved ones? They can't.
Persecution by authorities, going to jail? They can't.
Nuclear war? They can't.
Mistakes, fear, uncertainties? They can't.
They gospel of grace calls out: Nothing can ever separate you from the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord.
You must be convinced of this, trust it, and never forget to remember. Everything else will pass away, but the love of Christ is same yesterday, today, and forever. Faith will become vision, hope will become possession, but the love of Jesus Christ that is stronger than death endures forever. In the end, it is the only thing you can hang onto. - Brennan Manning (The Ragamuffin Gospel)
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