Jacob DeBoer

“Is it not strange that things invariably turn out other than what we expected them to be? The malignant power, which lies in wait to deceive us, loves to lull its chosen victim to sleep with with sweet songs and golden stories. On the other hand the messenger that brings salvation from heaven often raps sharply and terrifyingly at our door.”
― F. de la Motte Fouqué, Undine

“I argue that Paul believes that the eschatological restoration of Israel is already underway in the wake of the death and resurrection of Jesus and that his insistence on equal gentile incorporation is closely tied to his hopes for Israel's restoration. Specifically, since the full restoration of Israel must include all twelve tribes, Paul argues that the incorporation of gentiles into the eschatological assembly is the necessary means for the reconstitution and restoration of "all Israel," an entity not only including Jews but also non-Jewish Israelites restored from the nations among which northern Israel had assimilated. The destines of both Israel and the nations are therefore interdependent, and the ethical transformation afforded by the spirit of Israel's Messiah paradoxically serves to redeem Israel through the redemption of all nations.”
― Jason A. Staples, Paul and the Resurrection of Israel: Jews, Former Gentiles, Israelites

“Consider the contrast with the church in the West today. The early Christians made tremendous demands of their converts – demands that affected the most important areas of their lives. And people came in droves. But we bend over backwards in our churches to accommodate the radical individualism of people who come to us to find a “personal” Saviour who, we assure them, will meet their every felt need. And the overwhelming tide of secular culture threatens to suffocate what is left of the spiritual life of our churches, as the West becomes less and less Christian.”
― Joseph H. Hellerman, When the Church Was a Family: Recapturing Jesus' Vision for Authentic Christian Community

“What is the destiny of man, but to fill up the measure of his sufferings, and to drink his allotted cup of bitterness? And if that same cup proved bitter to the God of heaven, under a human form, why should I affect a foolish pride, and call it sweet?”
― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, The Sorrows of Young Werther