Overwhelmed by God's Love

Disciples who are transformed are still overwhelmed with the truth of God's love; they are continually in awe that Jesus loves them. Transformation is stalled when we grow calloused to His love by moving out of a vulnerable posture and into a position of self-dependence.

--Eric Geiger, Michael Kelley, and Philip Nation, Transformational Discipleship: How People Really Grow (Nashville: B&H, 2012), 220.

God Helps the Helpless

Leaders have also articulated that "God helps those who help themselves," which has motivated many people to work hard and expect God to "fill in the spaces." The reality of the gospel is that God helps the helpless. When we realize that we are utterly helpless without His grace and power in our lives, we are in a vulnerable posture that welcomes His transformation.

--Eric Geiger, Michael Kelley, and Philip Nation, Transformational Discipleship: How People Really Grow (Nashville: B&H, 2012), 141-142.

True Greatness

Jesus is saying that we carry those positions of responsibility as those who believe that greatness has little relation to the position one has and more to do with the quality of life in Christ that one humbly offers. Every moment of obscure service makes the hall of fame in heaven. This means that everybody, no matter what color, what economic reality, what gender, or what position they have or will never have in this life can do something great for God.

--Zack Eswine, Sensing Jesus: Life and Ministry as a Human Being (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012), Kindle location 562.

Humility in Interpretation

[W]hile the Word of God is authoritative and reliable, our comments on the Scriptures are always in soft lead pencil, subject to correction, modification, and even erasure.

--Daniel I. Block, Deuteronomy (NIV Application Commentary; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012), 16.