God's favourites responded with passion in kind. Moses argued with God so fervently that several times he persuaded God to change his mind. Jacob wrestled all night long and used trickery to grab hold of God's blessing. Job lashed out in sarcastic rage against God. David broke at least half the Ten Commandments. Yet never did they wholly give up on God, and never did God give up on them. God can handle anger, blame, and even willful disobedience. One thing, however, blocks relationship: indifference. "They turned their backs to me and not their faces," God told Jeremiah, in a damning indictment of Israel.

- 'Reaching for the Invisible God', Chapter 15: Passion and the Desert, by Philip Yancey