Chaos and Grace Quotes

“God's love for us is uncoerced and so freely given that it does not demand a response. But so freely is it given that it creates freedom in the recipient, so that our response is not one of obligation or duty, nor the returning of a favor, but uncoerced love.”
― Mark Galli, Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit

“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom," says Paul. And we are most in line with the Spirit, most faithfully obedient, when instead of trying to manipulate people into faith, we simply live in that freedom and let the Spirit do the work of transformation.”
― Mark Galli, Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit

“As is typical of this God [of Israel], he calls his people into freedom in the most unlikely place.”
― Mark Galli, Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit

“[denial] is an attempt to bring order to our lives.”
― Mark Galli, Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit

“For his own unfathomable reasons, God chooses to disguise himself when he comes to this planet, and there have been few disguises better than the church.”
― Mark Galli, Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit

“If the church is the body of Christ [who was disguised in servant form], why would we think the world would be able to pick us out of a crowd of other well-meaning organizations?”
― Mark Galli, Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit

“The Christian life does not just evolve. It also requires specific decisions and public commitments to deepen our faith and obedience.”
― Mark Galli, Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit

“To love with expectations is, in the end, an oppressive, driven thing, and people know it when they receive it. To love as God loves us--in freedom and with no strings attached--is a way to grant others a liberating gift.”
― Mark Galli, Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit

“I sometimes wonder if God calls us into the church because it represents not the people of God at their best but us at our worst. I wonder if he calls us to become embedded in this wretched institution precisely because it is wretched. And calls us to be a part of it not to reform it or save it or control it in any way, but to simply love it.”
― Mark Galli, Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit

“Only unconditional grace can transform a hardened heart into a grateful heart. Only a free gift can demolish any notion of quid pro quo. Only an utterly merciful act of love can fashion a new creation capable of love. As theologian Karl Barth puts it, 'As the beloved of God, we have no alternative but to love him in return.”
― Mark Galli, Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit

“The wealthy, Jesus says, can only get into heaven through the eye of a needle; the same applies to churches wealthy in numbers and programs.”
― Mark Galli, Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit

“The Good News does not hinge on words like do or change but on the powerless, irrelevant, and frightening words like belief and faith.”
― Mark Galli, Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit

“We say we long for intimacy with God and others, and yet we structure our lives so that this becomes impossible. One might think we are avoiding intimacy, that maybe we really like our finely managed lives just the way they are.”
― Mark Galli, Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit

“To live [in the church] at the beck and call of marketing logic is to live in slavery.”
― Mark Galli, Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit

“To love with expectations is, in the end, an oppressive, driven thing, and people know it when they receive it.”
― Mark Galli, Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit