That no obedience but a perfect one will satisfy God, I
hold with all my heart and strength; but that there is none
else that He cares for, is one of the lies of the enemy. What
father is not pleased with the first tottering attempt of his
little one to walk? What father would be satisfied with
anything but the manly step of the full-grown son?
... George Macdonald (1824-1905),
"The Way", from Unspoken Sermons, second series [1885]
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Most Christians are affected far more than they know by the
standards and ods of the surrounding world. In these days
when power and size and speed are almost universally admired,
it seems to me particularly important to study afresh the
"weakness", the "smallness of entry", and the "slowness" of God
as He begins His vast work of reconstructing His disordered
world. We are all tempted to take short cuts, to work for
quick results, and to evade painful sacrifice. It is therefore
essential that we should look again at love incarnate in a
human being, to see God Himself at work within the limitations
of human personality, and to base our ods on what we see
Him do.
... J. B. Phillips (1906-1982), Making Men Whole [1952]

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What fellowship means in material matters is made very
plain. Every man is to work for his living. "If a man will
not work, neither let him eat." But those who cannot work are
to be provided for out of the common fund. Old and helpless
persons who have relations of their own should, indeed, find
support from them and not be forced to come upon the Church;
but for the resourceless the Church must provide. And those
who are rich and who earn more than enough to support their own
families are to be willing contributors to the common fund.
The love of money -- the desire to accumulate wealth -- is the
root of every kind of evil. The relation of one to another is
to be that of members in one body, in which, if one member
suffers, all the members suffer with it.
... Charles Gore (1853-1932), Christ and Society [1928]

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Some go to the light of nature and the use of "right
reason" (that is, their own) as their guides; and some add the
additional documents of the philosophers. They think a saying
of Epictetus, or Seneca, or Arrianus, being wittily suited to
their fancies and affections, to have more life and power in it
than any precept of the Gospel. The reason why these things
are more pleasing unto them than the commands and instructions
of Christ is because, proceeding from the spring of natural
light, they are suited to the workings of natural fancy and
understanding; but those of Christ, proceeding from the
fountain of eternal spiritual light, are not comprehended in
their beauty and excellency without a principle of the same
light in us, guiding our understanding and influencing our
affections. Hence, take any precept, general or particular,
about moral duties, that is materially the same in the writings
of philosophers and in the doctrine of the Gospel; not a few
prefer it as delivered in the first way before the latter.
... John Owen (1616-1683),
A Discourse upon the Holy Spirit [1674]

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Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do
are in harmony.

Mahatma Gandhi
(1869-1948, Indian Political, Spiritual Leader)

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Unless man is committed to the belief that all mankind are his
brothers, then he labors in vain and hypocritically in the vineyards of
equality.

Adam Clayton Powell Jr.
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Things are only impossible until they're not.

Jean-Luc Picard
( 'Star Trek: The Next Generation')

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The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot
do.

Walter Bagehot
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We must alter our lives in order to alter our hearts, for
it is impossible to live one way and pray another.
... William Law (1686-1761)

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I believe in the forgiveness of sin and the redemption of
ignorance.

Adlai E. Stevenson
(1900-1965, American Lawyer, Politician)

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I compare the troubles which we have to undergo in the
course of the year to a great bundle of fagots, far too large
for us to lift. But God does not require us to carry the whole
at once. He mercifully unties the bundle, and gives us first
one stick, which we are to carry today, and then another, which
we are to carry tomorrow, and so on. This we might easily
manage, if we would only take the burden appointed for each
day; but we choose to increase our troubles by carrying
yesterday's stick over again today, and adding tomorrow's
burden to the load, before we are required to bear it.
... John Newton (1725-1807)

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The timeless in you is aware of life's timelessness; and knows
that yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream.

Kahlil Gibran
(1883-1931, Lebanese Poet, Novelist)

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