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
LET A MAN THINK AND CARE ever so little about God, he does not therefore exist without God. God is here with him, upholding, warming, delighting, teaching him-making life a good thing to him. God gives him himself, though the man knows it not.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the omnipresence of God in a person's life, whether or not one is consciously aware of it.
George Macdonald suggests that even minimal thought or care about God implies His presence in one's life. He conveys that God actively engages with individuals, offering support, warmth, and guidance, often unnoticed by them. This signifies that life's goodness is intertwined with God's existence, regardless of an individual's awareness.
Themes
GodExistenceLifePresenceAwareness
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about spirituality, one might use this quote to illustrate the idea of divine influence in everyday life.
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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Outside our consciousness there lies the cold and alien world of actual things. Between the two stretches the narrow borderland of the senses. No communication between the two worlds is possible excepting across the narrow strip. For a proper understanding of ourselves and of the world, it is of the highest importance that this borderland should be thoroughly explored.
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The pyramids, attached with age, have forgotten the names of their founders.
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You will find the Divine in the last place, because once you find it, you will not go on searching.
Sri Sri Ravi ShankarRead