In words attributed to Dostoyevsky, “Loving humility is marvelously strong, the strongest of all things, and there is nothing else like it.”21

Thomas Watson wrote in the seventeenth century is equally true today: “Satan kindles the fire of contention in men’s hearts and then stands and warms himself at the fire.”7 When we search for the kindling wood of Satan’s fire, we usually find it in the subterranean levels of our heart, particularly in smoldering fears and apprehensions that

How did Robinson do it? According to Pfund, this is the part of Jackie’s story that’s often overlooked. “Jackie Robinson was a sincere Christian,” Pfund said, “who sought to emulate the example of Jesus.”27 In the face of injustice, he routinely quelled his righteous anger by remembering the one who said, “I am gentle and humble in heart” (Matt.

In the words of minister Robert Henley, peacemakers are “‘non-conductors’ of bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil-speaking, and all malice.”15 In practical terms, our call to peacemaking is simply the public demonstration of what the Spirit is doing in our heart—the cultivation and showcasing of Christ at work.

We are rhetorically humble because we are not prophets infallibly inspired by God, let alone the One who could speak “with authority” in a way no one else can speak. We are mere messengers of that One: messengers who earnestly mean well, but who forget this bit of the message or never really understood that bit; messengers who never entirely live

“Ah! There you are!” he exclaimed, looking at Jean Valjean. “I’m glad to see you. Now, look here, I gave you those candlesticks as well, they’re silver like the rest and you’ll certainly be able to get two hundred francs for them. Why didn’t you take them with your forks and spoons?” Jean Valjean’s eyes widened, and he stared at the venerable

So, yes, the reality of death is vexing; but it’s also valuable. You may know that Jonathan Edwards made a regular practice of considering his mortality, expressing his resolution “to think much on all occasions of [his] own dying, and of the common circumstances which attend death.”14 From such reflection, Edwards found spiritual clarity and

“This blessedness,” says Donald Hagner, “is ascribed not to achievers, but to receivers.”23 We must work very hard to resist the natural urge to find something within ourselves that deserves God’s favor. From beginning to end we are saved by divine initiative.

As Philip Yancey noted, “The proof of spiritual maturity is not how pure you are but awareness of your impurity.”25