Joel

“And so leading up to his words “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens,” is Jesus’ statement, “I thank you, Father, . . . because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants” (Matthew 11:25, 28 NRSV). He is actually talking to people who are carrying a terrible religious burden. That is what religion does to you. It wears you out. If there is anything that we need to do, it is to learn how to lay down the burdens of religion in a loving, intelligent way.”
― Dallas Willard, Living in Christ's Presence: Final Words on Heaven and the Kingdom of God

“John: What does it mean then to talk about God’s judgment? Dallas: Well, he eventually has to deal with where things come out, and that will simply be a matter of declaring the truth. That will get past all of our rationalizations and explanations, and we will look at that and say, “That is true. That’s what I was. That’s what I did.” Now, I don’t think the issue of whether you are going to heaven or hell is settled on that basis, but it’s an important one. I don’t mean to suggest that it’s not. But I believe that the only people who will not be in heaven are people who don’t want to be there. When you think about it, if you don’t really like God, you don’t want to be in heaven.”
― Dallas Willard, Living in Christ's Presence: Final Words on Heaven and the Kingdom of God

“The story of your life is the story of the long and brutal assault on your heart by the one who knows what you could be and fears it.”
― John Eldredge, Waking the Dead: The Glory of a Heart Fully Alive

“Many people think of Jesus as our Savior, as the one who will get us into heaven. So the question often is “Have I accepted Jesus as my Savior?” But we never ask the question “Have I accepted Jesus as my teacher?” And that’s the real question. With the disciples, it began there. They began by accepting him as their teacher, and then accepting him as their Savior—which included, of course, their eternal destiny—was a natural outflow of that. But they started with Jesus as their teacher, because we all have to learn how to live.”
― Dallas Willard, Living in Christ's Presence: Final Words on Heaven and the Kingdom of God