"If I have already been forgiven and therefore connected to a God whose Spirit pours life into me, then you pose no threat to my existence. You can reject me, hurt me, and make my life pretty miserable, but you cannot destroy me. Therefore I don't need to be so afraid of you that my fear controls how I treat you.

I don't need to keep up my guard. I can actually accept you as God for Christ's sake has already accepted me. When you offend me, I can nourish the spirit of forgiveness within me because it's there. I may have to look hard for it, but it's there. I've been forgiven, and I've been given the urge to forgive, the same urge that led to my being forgiven. I can pour into you the life that has been poured into me."

--Connecting by Larry Crabb (pages 46-47)

"When two people connect, when their beings intersect as closely as two bodies during intercourse, something is poured out of one and into the other that has the power to heal the soul of its deepest wounds and restore it to health. The one who receives experiences the joy of being healed. The one who gives knows the even greater joy of being used to heal. Something good is in the heart of each of God's children that is more powerful than everything bad. It's there, waiting to be released, to work its magic. But it rarely happens."

--Connecting by Larry Crabb pxi