Telos

When we write, let us avoid being driven at our deepest level by a desire to dispel or defeat that which is false or wicked. Such writing is tainted, fleeting, wanting in beauty. Without an opponent, it loses its telos and crumbles upon itself.

As with writing, so with living. In gazing at God, we see the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit not ultimately motivated by casting down and conquering evil, but rather by love to rescue us from our own captivity to wickedness and make all things, all fellowship perfect again.

Jesus ran the unimaginable gauntlet—humanity lined up on each side—not for victory but for the joy set before Him. To pursue victory above all else is to be compromised, to already be defeated.