David A. Wilson

“There is no third category of “Christians” who generally agree with most of what Jesus was saying but don’t follow him or make a serious attempt to obey his teachings (but it’s all good ’cause they will “go to heaven when they die”).”
― John Mark Comer, Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus. Become like him. Do as he did.

“All this means that we are called to be people who learn to hear God’s voice speaking today within the ancient text, and who become vessels of that living word in the world around us.”
― N.T. Wright, Simply Christian: Step-by-Step Basics of Christian Faith and Practice

“I will never forget when my spiritual director advised me, “John Mark, sit in your sin and let God love you.” He did not mean “Keep sinning and don’t feel guilty.” He meant “When you sin [and I will, as you will], don’t hide it from God. Hold it before God, with no excuses, no blame shifting, no denial, just utter vulnerability, and let God love you as you are. And then let God love you into who you have the potential to become.”
― John Mark Comer, Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus. Become like him. Do as he did.

“Indeed, Luther saw that “in Christ, the God-forsaken sinner has a Savior who has taken on himself the full depths of human estrangement from God—and overcome it.”106 Why should we be surprised, then, asked Luther, that our lives are often filled with darkness and pain? Even God himself in Christ did not avoid that. But though God’s purposes are often every bit as hidden and obscure as they were to Job and to the observers at the foot of the cross, we—who have the teaching of the Bible and have grasped the message of the Bible—know that the way up is down. The way to power, freedom, and joy is through suffering, loss, and sorrow.”
― Timothy J. Keller, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering