When I was speaking to Brother Aaron's class, I was struck by something that I said
(that must sound terribly egocentric--welcome to my world. all the tools i have to measure this world are related to my self, and i take him with me everywhere. I listen to myself speak, and i learn from myself, too...is that such a crime?)... Here's the setup:
I asked the class numerous questions, trying to get an idea of how well they knew the scriptures...
They were a bit timid, so I knew they knew more than they were letting on, but it soon became clear (remember this wasn't "quizzing", it was a conversational type of sharing) that they didn't know the Scriptures anywhere near as well as they will after Mr. K's class is done shaking them out... 
I felt shame settling on them like a foggy dew. You could feel it. They were getting ready to be browbeaten (probably "again"). and I said something like, "Don't be ashamed! Whatever you do, Don't be ashamed! That's too EASY. Be CHANGED!!!" It's a powerful thing to simply admit and accept that we are not put together and all that... to look square in the face that we are small, often evil, and soooooo limited... to confess honestly that we want to do better, but we do what we don't want to...
then to look upon the love of God in Christ, calling us to receive him--Love. To be loved is our religion. to freely receive it and freely give it... this is abiding in the vine...
...meditation on our own sin, god's holiness, our fall, his call...works its best work as we meditate on and dwell in His love for us... behold how much he has LOVED us!
hard truths about our sin, neglect, evil, laziness, ignorance, limitation, etc... serve best when the listener comes to an amazement at the Love of the Father.
That is what Jesus did... He LOVED as he spoke hard truth about us, to us, for us... He loves us now... He invites us to a life that with an invitation that draws the truly humble and broken, and repels the hard-hearted and proud...
Look how broken that woman at the well got when Jesus called her out...and the woman who broke the perfume over Jesus' feet. Look at how Zacchaeus admitted his faults.
All of these were overjoyed at Jesus! He brought them Joy! In their honesty, confession and repentance, they found RELIEF!!! Amazement! childlike Joy! Prostitutes, Tax-Collectors, Sinners--even Gentile Centurions engaged the Kingdome of God more readily than the well-trained religious elite. In fact, examine closely how the well-trained religious elite treated Jesus and his followers... are you so sure you want to go there? is that what discipleship is about? expertise? No.
It's about an obedience that comes by trusting. A righteousness born of the amazement of believeing the impossible message that god really really really DOES really really LOVE...even a sinner like me...
How could we praise the love of the Father enough?
not a love that winks off sin, or leaves us in darkness. No. All who believe will bear fruit. 
We tremble at His judgment--and run to Him. the shame was dispersed and gone... we could go on...
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