Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime;
therefore, we must be saved by hope.
Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history;
therefore, we must be saved by faith.
Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone;
therefore, we are saved by love.
No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint;
therefore we must be saved by the final form of love, which is forgiveness.
~ Reinhold Niebuhr