James Castleton

God is not indifferent to suffering. In suffering He created us knowing, in the moment of creation, the necessity of the crucifixion. Christ suffered that we might have confidence that God understands our suffering. In suffering, God reconciled His beloved to Himself. In suffering, He makes us like Himself _

God will spare no pains necessary to bring us into relationship with Himself, even as that may mean permitting whatever pain is necessary to do so. Suffering is the grist by which the mill of faith yields the raw material of new character, greater insight and deeper relationship with God.

The journey to faith begins in a yearning for meaning and ends in love. Love is born out of the gratitude of a heart broken over its own sin and mended by grace. I would wish for a heart so broken that my gratitude, and therefore my love, would know no limits.

Too many seek the __ood_ life, whereas only a life of meaning will satisfy the existential ache within our breasts that begs the question of why we are here, what we are to do with this life, and according to what principles we are to live. This is a question best answered at the beginning, not at the end, of our lives, for the answer will determine not only the direction of our lives but also whether we will die in comfort and peace or in hopelessness and despair.

There is not a __rue_ happiness and a __alse_ happiness. Only happiness and meaning. The key to happiness is to realize that it is not the same thing as meaning._ The key to meaning is to realize that it is to be found neither in the pursuit, nor in the denial, of happiness. Happiness speaks to our health, meaning to our hope. The former provides for the necessities of life, the latter a reason for living_ Happiness is the consequence of properly loving ourselves. Meaning is the consequence of loving others as ourselves.

Great hardship always seems to be the prerequisite to meaningful spiritual growth.

Love may be the most excellent way, but it is also a difficult path to follow and one on which we will most assuredly stumble and fall. If we are not to lose our way, Humility must be our guide, and if we are to surmount disappointment and regain our footing, Forgiveness must be our porter.

Natural lovers remain committed to the circumstances of their marriage as long as it continues to work for them. Because persons of faith remain committed to their marriage, regardless of circumstances, it continues to work for them.

Faith is about what we know, not what we feel. Yet, what we know will influence and direct what we feel. A strong knowledge of God will yield feelings of confidence in Him.

The journey to faith is the most marvelous and sobering of all journeys, for the transformation of one__ heart transforms the questions one asks, the values one holds, the world one perceives, and the life one lives.

The terrible poverty of pride is that there is nothing that can be taken in selfishness which will exceed what is received when nothing is expected and everything is offered.

We should live lives of intentionality, for every life ends in death, but not every death ends in peace. The type of death one wishes to experience determines the type of life one ought to live. We should begin with the end in view, and in our journey we should never lose sight of the destination. The meaning of death holds the key to the meaning of life.

We are living in an era where mental health has become equated with, and measured by, the success of our interpersonal relationships, particularly the extent to which they bring us happiness. Yet as important as it is to be able to live peaceably with others, mental and interpersonal health ultimately require the ability to be at peace in the solitude of oneself and to enjoy, and be enriched by, the company of one__ own thoughts.

I pray for insight where the path is veiled, fortitude where the obstacles appear insurmountable, endurance where the destination seems unattainable, and equanimity when all that remains is to accept the journey.

The question is not whether our life is purposeful, but whether that purpose leads to a hope which is proper to our nature as human beings, for only then will life be meaningful.

Purpose, meaning, and hope are the edge of a coin; on one side is imprinted the image of God; and on the other is self _ As complicated as life seems at times, the mystery of fulfillment and the paradox of contentment are as simple as that. What makes life complicated, I suspect, isn__ the choice between these two value systems and the paths they define, sin and holiness, so much as it is our unwillingness to make the choice between the two.

The measure of a man consists less in his present perfection than in his willingness to be perfected. A man will be remembered most, not for his accomplishments, but for his character.

Happiness is true, even though it fades, and meaning is also true, despite the fact that it endures. Those experiences that define what it most means to be human are true not because they endure, they are true because they are meaningful. Being human is not about being happy, not because happiness fades, but because the apex of the human experience is not happiness but meaning. Meaning endures not because it is true but because it is not dependent on circumstance. Happiness is transient not because it is false but precisely because it is dependent on circumstance. Each emotional experience is true in its proper domain. What makes one fleeting and the other lasting is not truth but the fact that one belongs to the temporal and the other to the eternal.