Dear John; Ploughboy Postcards Quotes

“Always be careful, as they say, “Text without context is usually pretext.” In other words, people like to try to use the Bible to get you to agree with them instead of helping you understand what a given section of Scripture meant to its original audience at the time. I gotta think St. John would back me up on that.”
― Ted Mallory, Dear John; Ploughboy Postcards

“A great exercise is to read 1 Corinthians 13 and substitute the word "Love" for "God," or "Jesus." If you do that, you'll get a great idea of who God is and what John meant when he said that "God IS love." Likewise, if you try reading it substituting your own name for the word "Love," your conscience will probably make you feel pretty embarrassed or even ashamed because of how unlike God and unloving you can be. I know mine did.”
― Ted Mallory, Dear John; Ploughboy Postcards

“1 John 3:16-18 tells us that our purpose is to be like Jesus, servants sacrificing for others. Not in order to get into Heaven, not to save ourselves. And not because we SHOULD or OUGHT TO since Jesus has saved us and we get to go to Heaven, but because that's our predicate, that's what God created us for, to be like His Son Jesus. Loving, forgiving, healing, feeding, clothing, comforting, helping, teaching, humbly doing what He does in His ministry of reconciliation.”
― Ted Mallory, Dear John; Ploughboy Postcards