One of the implications of grace may be that instead of taking swords to the less good and pure, we learn to express the openness of God to the mixed bag of people who are on the journey with us.
We are called to stop defending ourselves and fighting off the intruders in the vineyard, but rather to welcome the spirit-sent opportunities that will demand of us, but will also change us.
God will open the way through the world’s chaos, and it will be grounded on extravagant mercy.
All of us, oppressed and powerful, are invited to act against violence and exploitation, to leave behind the oppressive ways and walk towards a new way of life.
God calls us, as individuals and as a church, to a journey with him, but sometimes we find ourselves sitting at a station watching the trains go by.
God will wound us if necessary to bring us into the full blessing intended for us.
Perhaps when law and order perpetuate injustice, God is on the side of the scammers and swindlers.
The Church will always contain more than its fair share of maliciousness, pettiness and nastiness, but the temptation to try to weed it out is a temptation to abandon the way of Christ and make things worse.
God calls us to live out the gospel, not just to think about, not just to pray about it, but to live it. Jesus called us to action, not to change their thinking but to change their lives.
The power of sin over us will not be broken by trying harder, but by pursuing Christ and Christ alone.
In the face of human evil, God has made a personal commitment to persevere in loving us and drawing us towards fulfilment.
There is no hell where the love of God in Christ cannot reach us.
The way to enter the life of God is found in Jesus, in relationship with the incarnate life of God.
The decision to repent and accept Christ’s gift of forgiveness and life involves a life change which includes a new willingness to honour and serve Christ in the stranger.
When hopes have been extinguished and all is despair, God comes back.
Our struggles against evil, temptation and suffering are all framed by the security of God’s unshakable love and resolve to bring us safely to fullness of life.
Being born of water and Spirit involves becoming as vulnerable and dependent on God as a newborn baby is on its parents.
We are humble servants who are strengthened and empowered by the Spirit to enter into the redeeming work of God.
The revelation of what God is on about in Christ will always upend our expectations and disrupt our lives.
In the face of monumental devastation and suffering, God speaks a word, and the word becomes flesh.