GOD'S LOVE, OUR BURDEN
We are challenged today by a modernized recasting of Tertullian's question: What has Boston to do with Bosnia? …
Why should we concern ourselves with the human tragedies of Bosnia, Somalia and Bangladesh? Why should the holocaust taking place in Rwanda touch our lives when it is obvious that the sovereign Lord has placed us so as to be secure from those dangers and other winds of adversity? Should we worry about restoring democracy to Haiti, ask questions about human rights in China or be concerned with the plight of Cuban emigrants?
Why should we burden ourselves with the burdens of the world and allow [ourselves] to be disturbed by statistics of war, disease and poverty? Why should the turmoils of the world disrupt the tranquility of our hearts and surrounding?
May I suggest that there is only one compelling reason—"For God so loved the world."
– Peter Kuzmic at his installation as Distinguished Professor of World Missions and European Missions at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (Sept. 9, 1994)
MIXED-UP GENERATION
We are disgusted by the things that we desire, and we desire what disgusts us.
– New York Gov. Mario Cuomo in a speech quoted in
"Newsweek" (Oct. 24, 1994)
FEAR NOTHING OR FEAR EVERYTHING
The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else.
– Oswald Chambers in
"The Highest Good"
TRUE GRIT
The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.
– G. K. Chesterton in
"What's Wrong with the World"
THE CENTRAL QUESTION
The Christian faith is the most exciting drama that ever staggered the imagination of man—and the dogma is the drama. That drama is summarized quite clearly in the creeds of the Church, and if we think it dull it is because we either have never really read those amazing documents or have recited them so often and so mechanically as to have lost all sense of their meaning. The plot pivots upon a single character, and the whole action is the answer to a single central problem: What think ye of Christ?
– Dorothy L. Sayers quoted in
"Dorothy L. Sayers: A Careless Rage for Life"
HUMANITY AS CREATOR
I think it says something that the only form of life that we have created so far is purely destructive. Talk about creating life in our own image.
– Stephen W. Hawking telling a computer convention that computer viruses represent the only life form wholly created by humans
THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT SIN
Sin is the best news there is, the best news there could be in our predicament.
Because with sin, there's a way out. There's the possibility of repentance. You can't repent of confusion or psychological flaws inflicted by your parents—you're stuck with them. But you can repent of sin. Sin and repentance are the only grounds for hope and joy. The grounds for reconciled, joyful relationships. You can be born again.
– John Alexander in
"The Other Side" (Jan.-Feb. 1993)
LOVE IS NOT LUV
Love should cast out terror, but not awe. True love must include awe. This is one of the great truths about sex and marriage that our age has tragically forgotten: awe at the great mystery that is sex. …
God is love. But love is not luv. Love is not nice. Love is a fire, storm, earthquake, volcano, lightning and hurricane. Love banged out the Big Bang and endured the hell of the cross. …
Next time you hear "All you need is luv," think of the captain of the Titanic singing it to his passengers. As for me, I'd rather have a lifeboat.
– Peter Kreeft in
"New Covenant"
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