The Indwelling of Christ by faithis to have Jesus Christ continually in one’s eye, a habitual sight of Him. I call it so because a man actually does not always think of Christ; but as a man does not look up to the sun continually, yet he sees the light of it. So you should carry along and bear along in your eye the sight and knowledge of Christ, so that at least a presence of Him accompanies you, which faith makes.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of maintaining a constant awareness of Christ in one's life, similar to how one sees the light of the sun without always looking at it directly.
Thomas Goodwin's quote discusses the concept of having a continuous awareness of Christ's presence in one's life through faith, likening this awareness to the way sunlight permeates our surroundings even when we are not directly gazing at the sun. This suggests that a person's faith acts as a guiding light, allowing them to navigate life with Christ's influence as a constant background presence, enriching their experience and shaping their choices.
In practice
In a sermon about the importance of faith, one might quote this to illustrate how Christians can embody Christ's presence in their daily lives.
Grace is more than mercy and love. It super-adds to them. It denotes, not simply love, but the love of a sovereign, transcendent Superior. One that may do what He will. That may wholly choose whether He will love or no. Now God, who is an infinite Sovereign, who might have chosen whether ever He would love us or no; for Him to love us, this is Grace.
Value God and his love more than all the world, though there were millions of them. He valued you before the world, and therefore is beforehand with you in his love. He not only loved you from everlasting, (whereas your love is but of yesterday,) but in the valuation of it, he loved you before all worlds, and preferred you to all worlds: though you loved the world first, before you loved him.
Oh despise not election! therein lies all your hope, that there is a remnant who shall infallibly be saved.
The values of the world we inhabit and the people we surround ourselves with have a profound effect on who we are.
Ironically, the first thing that appealed to me about Islam was its pluralism. The fact that the Koran praises all the great prophets of the past.
And the principle which distinguishes democracy from all other forms of government is that in a democracy the opposition not only is tolerated as constitutional but must be maintained because it is in fact indispensable.
Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid...He is the hero, he is everything. He must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man. He must be, to use a rather weathered phrase, a man of honor, by instinct, by inevitability, without thought of it, and certainly without saying it. He must be the best man in his world and a good enough man for any world
It is better to be beautiful than to be good. But... it is better to be good than to be ugly.
Here is the world, sound as a nut, perfect, not the smallest piece of chaos left, never a stitch nor an end, not a mark of haste, or botching, or second thought; but the theory of the world is a thing of shreds and patches.
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