Zach

“Work matters. Quality work matters. It matters to God. Luther famously said that the angels smile when a father changes a dirty diaper. God wants clean rear ends! Of course he does.

Why does God care about such small details? Because he loves, that's why. He wants children taught, and he uses principals, teachers, and parents to do it. Not to mention all the staff it takes to run a school. God wants people protected, and he uses firefighters, police officers, and a host of government officials to get the job done. God wants diseases controlled, and he uses doctors, nurses, and researchers to take on this monumental task. He cares deeply about the janitor's work, too, for the very same reason. God wants it all, and he wants it done well. He uses people to do it. He frees Christians from working for him so that they can work for their neighbors.”
― Michael Berg, Vocation: The Setting of Human Flourishing

“We read because without books our world shrinks our empathy thins and our liberty wanes. We read for the same reason that people have read and shared poems or stories for thousands of years, because our eyes are not enough by which to see.”
― Jessica Hooten Wilson, Reading for the Love of God

“The Gospel of Jesus Christ contains incomparable power to dignify those the world ignores. The last thing the disadvantaged need is a press release that reads "Behold, I bring you great news of great joy that will be for all the peoples. God helps those who help themselves." The Gospel is infinitely better news. Give the self-help thing to the poor and you are going to destroy them. Give the Gospel to the poor and you are doing to transform them.”
― Matt Smethurst, Tim Keller on the Christian Life: The Transforming Power of the Gospel

“Story is a trojan horse for truth. It can sneak truth past the gates of our defenses and prepare our hearts to hear things we might have resisted if they had come as mere declaration. Jesus relied on storytelling as his primary method of teaching for just this reason--to persuade Jews to empathize with Samaritans, wealthy people to care for the poor, and religious people to have compassion on society's fringe.”
― Russ Ramsey, Rembrandt Is in the Wind: Learning to Love Art through the Eyes of Faith