Drew

“For a little reward, people make a long journey; for eternal life many will scarcely lift a foot off the ground. They seek poor rewards of money in their shameful strife. For a trivial promise, people will work day and night.”
― James Watkins, The Imitation of Christ: Classic Devotions in Today's Language

“To believe is therefore not only to come into the faith but to be conformed to the image of the crucified Christ. To be baptized is to share the existence of the crucified one.”
― James W. Thompson, Pastoral Ministry according to Paul: A Biblical Vision

“It seems as if many church people have been living in Plato’s cave. They think the church enterprise is about “me.” What is at stake is my salvation. The me-and-my-salvation individual “does church” by making a fair exchange of time and money for eternal assurances. But the effect of teaching the fate of the individual soul downplays the beginning of God’s restoration now. It teaches that the important stuff comes later and that “going to heaven” is the benchmark of Christian life. Yet, the Christian life is so much more than any one person’s long-term survival. It is about the world’s future; it is about our hope turning our heads and hearts toward the world.”
― Peter L Steinke, A Door Set Open: Grounding Change in Mission and Hope

“O God, enlarge love in me, so I may learn to taste with my whole heart how sweet it is to love, to be dissolved, and to swim in love.”
― James Watkins, The Imitation of Christ: Classic Devotions in Today's Language