“The sins we do not forget, God does not remember.”
All in God's Love
My friend Jacob Smith once suggested that all human beings are three bad days in a row from becoming a tabloid headline, and most of us are already on day two. At a time when our worst private moments, most shameful secrets, and deepest character flaws can be easily found out and publicly exposed for the whole world…
The definition I give for grace in my book One-Way Love comes from Paul Zahl: Grace is love that seeks you out when you have nothing to give in return. Grace is love coming at you that has nothing to do with you. Grace is being loved when you are unlovable…. The cliché definition of grace is “unconditional love.”…
A Presbyterian pastor told of a conversation with a man in his congregation; “You preachers talk a lot about giving, but when you get right down to it, it all comes down to Basin Theology.” The pastor asked, “Basin Theology, what’s that?” The man replied, “Remember what Pilate did when he had the chance to acquit Jesus?”
Today is Good Friday—the day that Christians all over the world consider the cross of Jesus in an amplified way. Christians love the cross because it is there where our rescue was realized, where our salvation was secured. It is there where God’s one-way love was put on display for the whole world to see.
Normally, the outdoorsy image of choice for spiritual growth is mountain climbing. You know how it is: new Christian at the bottom of the mountain, mature Christian near the top. I want to take you a different way…so let’s go spelunking! Spelunking is cave exploration, and it’s my suggestion for another way…
My historical hero Martin Luther once said that “To be convinced in our hearts that we have forgiveness of sins and peace with God by grace alone is the hardest thing.” It’s the hardest thing because we are strings attached people living in a strings attached world with other strings attached people. Everything is conditional…
In 1738, literary giant Samuel Johnson wrote in his diary: “O Lord, enable me … to redeem the time which I have spent in sloth.” Nineteen years later, he wrote, “Almighty God, enable me to shake off sloth, and to redeem the time misspent in idleness and sin, by a diligent application of the days yet remaining.” Every few years…
Over the last two and half years, I’ve said to many people that best friends are made when you’re at the bottom, not the top. When you’re at the top, it’s hard to know who your true friends are because you have so much to offer. But when you’re at the bottom and have nothing to offer…
