If my activism, however well-motivated, drives out love, then I have misunderstood Jesus’ gospel. I am stuck with law, not the gospel of grace.
Philip YanceyRead
The proof of spiritual maturity is not how pure you are but awareness of your impurity. That very awareness opens the door to grace.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Spiritual maturity lies in recognizing one's flaws rather than pretending to be perfect.
This quote emphasizes that true spiritual growth involves an honest acknowledgment of our imperfections. By being aware of our shortcomings, we can open ourselves to grace and opportunities for personal development, rather than maintaining a facade of purity or perfection.
Themes
SpiritualityMaturityAwarenessImperfectionGrace
In practice
Example use cases
A motivational speech about personal growth in a spiritual retreat.
More from Philip Yancey
All quotes →In the stories of extravagant grace given to us by Jesus, there are no loopholes disqualifying us from God's love.
Philip YanceyRead
Parents learn the uses of power and its limits. They can insist on certain outward behavior but cannot change inner attitudes. They can require obedience but not goodness - and certainly not love.
Philip YanceyRead
Prayer is to the skeptic a delusion, a waste of time. To the believer it represents perhaps the most important use of time.
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We grow up hungry for love, and in ways so deep as to remain unexpressed we long for our Maker to love us.
Philip YanceyRead
I once heard a theologian remark that in the Gospels people approached Jesus with a question 183 times whereas he replied with a direct answer only three times. Instead, he responded with a different question, a story, or some other indirection. Evidently Jesus wants us to work out answers on our own, using the principles that he taught and lived.
Philip YanceyRead
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In his commerce with men I mean him to include- and that principally- those who live only in the memory of books. By means of history he will frequent those great souls of former years. If you want it to be so, history can be a waste of time; it can also be, if you want it to be so, a study bearing fruit beyond price.
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And I know now that all the time I was trying to get out of the dust, the fact is, what I am, I am because of the dust. And what I am is good enough. Even for me.
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