Category Quotes & Verses

Christians are So Unlikable (Repost)

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Mahatma Gandhi is sometimes quoted as saying “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

People often think this statement is shocking and the world is expert at finding hypocrisy, as if evidence of hypocrisy determines the loser of every argument.

But what’s really shocking is “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die – but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:6-8

The first quote exalts Jesus as an admirable example that others don’t live up to. The second quote explains that the only reason we are able to exalt Him at all is that He did not abandon us. The sins of mankind, including Christians, only amplify the magnitude of Christ’s love in His sacrifice. I wouldn’t be here to write this otherwise. Christians being bad people is not news, because everyone is a sinner.

Would anyone prefer that God judge everyone who was not like Christ on their own merits? Gandhi’s quote seems to want that, without considering the true implications.

Jesus alone, crucified and risen, is the Way. There is no other plan.

May His grace overwhelm us today. We all need it and need to share it.

[This is a Rewind Wednesday of a post originally shared in November 2021]

A Quint of Quotes #2

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Fellow travelers,

I started a new thing on the blog last week: “A Quint of Quotes” from my collection.  Five quotes somewhat related to each other, but not exactly in agreement.  These are also related to last weeks.  Enjoy!

“In theory there’s no difference between theory and practice. But in practice, there is.” – Yogi Berra

“Grace without truth would be deceitful, and truth without grace would be condemning.” – Warren Wiersbe

“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted” – William Bruce Cameron

“It is better to will the good than to know the truth” – Petrarch

“My lord, I leave the infinite to Thee, and pray Thee to put far from me such a love for the tree of knowledge might keep me from the tree of life.” – Charles Spurgeon

More to come!

A Quint of Quotes #1

Todd R 4 Comments

Fellow travelers,

Starting a new thing on the blog today: “A Quint of Quotes” from my collection.  Five quotes somewhat related to each other, but not exactly in agreement.  Enjoy!

“Truth is so obscure in these times, and falsehood so established, that, unless we love the truth, we cannot know it.” – Pascal (in 1670)

“People often use statistics like a drunk uses a lamppost; not for illumination but rather for support.” – Unknown

“When somebody persuades me that I am wrong I change my mind. What do you do?” – John Maynard Keynes

“Dogma does not mean the absence of thought, but the end of thought.” – G.K. Chesterton

“People are often willing to produce a lot of collateral damage if they can retain their theory” – Jordan Peterson

More next week.

Keep Your Eyes on the Road

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“The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,
            but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.” – Proverbs 17:24

Wisdom keeps us on the path of life but doesn’t always mark it out for us far into the future.  Even if the fool identifies a correct future destination or goal, the path to get there might bend in ways they won’t see by looking only at the end goal.  The discerning focus on the daily task and the daily bread.

Today matters.

God Wants to Hear Everything

Todd R 2 Comments

Not everyone has a good friend they can talk to anything about at any time.  But we always have God.  As David tells us in Psalm 62:8 –

“Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah”

When do we need a refuge?  When we have troubles.  He wants to hear from us at all times and strengthen and guide us.  Martin Luther, commenting on the verse, wrote:

“Strength fades, courage fails; God remains firm.  If you are lacking something, well, here is good advice: ‘Pour out your heart before him’ Voice your complaint freely, and do not conceal anything from him.  Regardless of what it is, just throw it in a pile before him, as you open your heart completely to a good friend. He wants to hear it, and he wants to give you his aid and counsel. Do not be bashful before him. Out with everything.”[1]

The word Selah at the end of the verse is mysterious, but many believe it is a signal to pause and reflect.  What do you want to “throw in a pile before him” now?

[1] Quoted in McKim, Donald K.  Everyday Prayer with the Reformers (2020).  P. 37.