"It is not by virtue of your power or your merit that the Gospel is preached and your king comes. God must send him out of pure grace. Hence not greater wrath of God exists than where he does not send the Gospel; there is only sin, error, and darkness, there man may do what he will. Again, there is no greater grace than where he sends his Gospel, for there must be grace and mercy in its train, even if not all, perhaps only a few, receive it. . .This is what is meant by 'Your king is coming to you.' You do not seek him, but he seeks you. You do not find him, he finds you. For the preachers come from him, not from you; for their sermons come from him, not from you; your faith comes from him, not from you; everything that faith works in you comes from him, not from you; and where he does not come, you remain outside; and where there is no Gospel there is no God, but only sin and damnation; free will may do, suffer, work, and live as it may and can. Therefore you should not ask, where to begin to be godly; there is no beginning, except where the king enters and is proclaimed." -- From "Through the Year with Martin Luther", pages 15-16.
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