“Forgiveness does not relieve someone of responsibility for what they have done. Forgiveness does not erase accountability. It is not about turning a blind eye or even turning the other cheek.”

We are made for loving. If we don’t love, we will be like plants without water.

We are made for goodness. We are made for love. We are made for friendliness. We are made for togetherness. We are made for all of the beautiful things that you and I know.

A person is a person through other persons.

In the end what matters is not how good we are but how good God is. Not how much we love Him but how much He loves us. And God loves us whoever we are, whatever we’ve done or failed to do, whatever we believe or can’t.

We do not heal in isolation. When we reach out and connect with one another—when we tell the story, name the hurt, grant forgiveness, and renew or release the relationship—our suffering begins to transform.

Though wrong gratifies in the moment, good yields its gifts over a lifetime.

Like when you sit in front of a fire in winter – you are just there in front of the fire. You don’t have to be smart or anything. The fire warms you.

Differences are not intended to separate, to alienate. We are different precisely in order to realize our need for one another.

You show your humanity by how you see yourself not as apart from others but from your connection to others.

Language is very powerful. Language does not just describe reality. Language creates the reality it describes.

Out of the cacophony of random suffering and chaos that can mark human life, the life artist sees or creates a symphony of meaning and order.

When we see others as separate, they become a threat. When we see others as part of us, as connected, as interdependent, then there is no challenge we cannot face—together.

When we see others as the enemy, we risk becoming what we hate. When we oppress others, we end up oppressing ourselves. All of our humanity is dependent upon recognizing the humanity in others.

There is nothing more difficult than waking someone who is only pretending to be asleep.

It is through weakness and vulnerability that most of us learn empathy and compassion and discover our soul.

Discovering more joy does not, save us from the inevitability of hardship and heartbreak.

And gradually they’re beginning to recognize the fact that there’s nothing more secure than a democratic, accountable, and participatory form of government. But it’s sunk in only theoretically, it has not yet sunk in completely in practical terms.

Hold everybody accountable? Ridiculous!

In millions of encounters each year between the police and the public, it may be too much to expect that every officer will always get it right. But it is not too much to expect that we can put the right safeguards in place to hold officers accountable when they get it wrong.

I repeat… that all power is a trust; that we are accountable for its exercise; that from the people and for the people all springs, and all must exist.

Through biblical community in their local church, through honesty and transparency, sharing what it is that troubles them, being accountable.

Find a partner, commit to taking action, and hold each other accountable.

My Dear Son… remember that you are accountable to your Maker for all your words and actions.

I like being responsible for myself.