Alas, how easily things go wrong! A sigh too much, a kiss too long And there follows a mist and a weeping rain And life is never the same again
George MacdonaldRead
If you care to see God, be pure. If you will not be pure, you will grow more and more impure.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Purity of heart leads to a clearer vision of the divine, while a lack of purity results in spiritual degradation.
George Macdonald's quote emphasizes the importance of inner purity in one’s spiritual journey. He suggests that to truly perceive the divine or experience a connection with God, one must cultivate purity within themselves; otherwise, neglecting this purity can lead to a gradual decline into impurity and spiritual blindness.
Themes
PuritySpiritualityDivineImpurityInner Peace
In practice
Example use cases
During a meditation retreat, I shared this quote to encourage participants to focus on cultivating purity of heart.
More from George Macdonald
All quotes →It is not in the nature of politics that the best men should be elected. The best men do not want to govern their fellowmen.
George MacdonaldRead
He may delay because it would not be safe to give us at once what we ask: we are not ready for it. To give ere we could truly receive, would be to destroy the very heart and hope of prayer, to cease to be our Father. The delay itself may work to bring us nearer to our help, to increase the desire, perfect the prayer, and ripen the receptive condition.
George MacdonaldRead
When I can no more stir my soul to move, and life is but the ashes of a fire; when I can but remember that my heart once used to live and love, long and aspire- O, be thou then the first, the one thou art; be thou the calling, before all answering love, and in me wake hope, fear, boundless desire.
George MacdonaldRead
But words are vain; reject them all— They utter but a feeble part: Hear thou the depths from which they call, The voiceless longing of my heart.
George MacdonaldRead
Few delights can equal the presence of one whom we trust utterly.
George MacdonaldRead
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