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.

— James Castleton

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’t 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.

— James Castleton

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.

— James Castleton

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

— James Castleton

The major dilemma in life arises when it is assumed that meaning is simply a greater degree of happiness, such that the more one indulges physiological needs, the more likely it is that life will be experienced as meaningful.

— James Castleton

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.

— James Castleton

The measure of a man’s character may be the manner in which he treats the one who can do him no good, but the measure of his heart is the manner in which he loves the one who has hurt him. He who is unloving in his pain was never really loving in his happiness.

— James Castleton

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.

— James Castleton

There is not a “true” happiness and a “false” 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.

— James Castleton

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.

— James Castleton