Younger generations are suspicious of biblical ethics. Older generations, of biblical justice. Jesus says you must have both if you are going to follow him. Word AND Deed. Grace AND Truth. Love AND Law. Ethics AND Justice. "You must repent" AND "Remember the poor.
The only person I’ve met who I completely agree with is me. And I changed my mind.
We can grow.
Let’s keep it humble out there today.
The longer I live the smaller grows my circle of certainties. Hopefully my circle of mercy & careful listening is growing.
What makes God’s love so amazing isn’t just that he accepts you as you are. It’s that he doesn’t leave you there.
The gospel of mere acceptance is thin. Acceptance may be the starting point, but transformation is the destination.
Younger generations are suspicious of biblical ethics. Older generations, of biblical justice. Jesus says you must have both if you are going to follow him. Word AND Deed. Grace AND Truth. Love AND Law. Ethics AND Justice. "You must repent" AND "Remember the poor."
For our faith to have any credibility, our “conservative” belief that every word of Scripture is right and good and true must compel us toward “liberal” lives of generosity and love. #IrresistibleFaithBook
The NT is one of the most emphatically anti-racist texts ever written... Read it, and you will find that trying to marry Christianity to white-centric nationalism is like trying to marry a cat to a mouse: one is designed to hunt the other, not mate with it. - @RebeccMcLaugh
Grief has at times showed up at the door of my soul like an unexpected and uninvited guest.
I often attempt to turn such a visitor away.
But it’s tears have a way of rolling across the threshold before I can get the door closed.
And after it leaves I’m thankful it stopped by.
Churches that will thrive in any meaningful way going forward, will not be castles of purity where only the “morally fit” feel comfortable, but rather basements of grace where broken sinners are embraced and forgiven; places where sin doesn’t shock and grace still amazes.
Younger generations are suspicious of biblical ethics. Older generations, of biblical justice. Jesus says you must have both if you are going to follow him. Word AND Deed. Grace AND Truth. Love AND Law. Ethics AND Justice. "You must repent" AND "Remember the poor."
This is a quote that doesn’t get shared often. But it’s truth. When we celebrate Dr. King we must celebrate all of him. Not just the one who shared love and fought for equality but the one who condemned hate and called out those who didn’t take a stand for what’s right.
There is more to unity than the cooling down of hostility. Christians from differing perspectives can learn and mature as they listen humbly and carefully to one another.
I’ve actually not made that many real theological shifts in my life—just one major movement, & I’d recommend it to anybody: choose to follow the trajectory of love.
Jesus did not scold the Samaritan woman for her “lifestyle.” Nor did he use the Bible as a weapon against her. Instead, he saw beneath her distorted behavior to the need and emptiness that were driving it. Seeing her sin, he loved her.