Way of Love Quotes

“To be sick is to be diseased, ill at ease, unable to be with others in a harmonious way. It is, eventually, to find oneself fragmented and alone. To be healthy, on the other hand, is to be able to move freely, sympathetically, and shamelessly among others.”
― Norman Wirzba, Way of Love: Recovering the Heart of Christianity

“The world does not exist for our exclusive satisfaction. It consists of billions of creatures all trying to make their way through life, and God loves them all, even the creatures that can harm us (for more on this point, see Job 38–41).”
― Norman Wirzba, Way of Love: Recovering the Heart of Christianity

“Eating is no trifling activity. For any creature to eat, other creatures must die, most often by being eaten themselves. The soil that is the basis for the fertility, growth, and enjoyment of all terrestrial life is also one vast feeding frenzy in which billions of organisms live and die together. Life as we know it depends on death. That means death is not simply the end of life; it is life’s steadfast companion. There is no sharing in life that is not also a sharing in another’s death. Acknowledging this is terrifying. How does any one of us become worthy of another’s death and communicate that its life is not trivial or to be engaged recklessly?”
― Norman Wirzba, Way of Love: Recovering the Heart of Christianity

“The logic of idolatry is ultimately self-and world-defeating, because the idolatrous impulse is born out of a deep distrust in God’s love and care and a denial of the sacred character of the world. People embark on an idolatrous path when they believe that God’s gifts are not sufficient or God’s care is misdirected.”
― Norman Wirzba, Way of Love: Recovering the Heart of Christianity

“The meaning of life is found in the receiving, nurturing, and sharing of God's gift of love. Why? Because life is God's love made visible, fragrant, audible, touchable, and nutritious. Life is not a pointless struggle or a random accident. It is God's creation. As such, it is the material manifestation of the divine love that delights in the flourishing of others.”
― Norman Wirzba, Way of Love: Recovering the Heart of Christianity

“The fundamental task of Christians is to align their living with the divine love that is always already operative in the world.”
― Norman Wirzba, Way of Love: Recovering the Heart of Christianity

“Miracles are God making right something within the world that has gone wrong. That means miracles are not an interruption in the life of creatures, but rather those creatures’ liberation to move into the life that God desires for them.”
― Norman Wirzba, Way of Love: Recovering the Heart of Christianity

“Scripture does not end with disembodied souls escaping creation and ascending to some faraway place. It ends with God descending to creation to take up residence with mortals.”
― Norman Wirzba, Way of Love: Recovering the Heart of Christianity

“Sabbath rest is not about stopping, but about exchanging our restlessness for delight.”
― Norman Wirzba, Way of Love: Recovering the Heart of Christianity