The passion to protect ourselves, to keep our wounds out of sight where no one can make them worse, is the strongest passion in our hearts. And it will remain so until we experience a certain kind of relationship, until we meet the crucified and resurrected Christ, and experience a person like Christ, someone broken yet beautiful. […]
It takes someone…to shatter our defenses, to expose our brokenness, and to touch our souls with love. It takes someone…to reveal Christ, to help us see the miracle of the gospel in our hearts, that beneath all the pretense and posturing, beneath the wounds of insecurity and failure, there is divine goodness.
[I]f no one is broken enough to enjoy God’s love and give it away, our communities never become spiritual. The inevitable conflict that crops up eventually in every relationship will take us in unspiritual directions, into relationships that do not require the Spirit.