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It is not the number of books you read; nor the variety of sermons which you hear; nor the amount of religious conversation in which you mix: but it is the frequency and the earnestness with which you meditate on these things, till the truth which may be in them becomes your own, and part of your own being, that ensures your spiritual growth.
Frederick William Robertson
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Interpretation

What this quote means

True spiritual growth comes from deep reflection rather than mere exposure to ideas.

In this quote, Frederick William Robertson emphasizes that mere consumption of religious material, whether books, sermons, or discussions, is insufficient for genuine spiritual growth. Instead, it is the consistency and sincerity of our meditation on these teachings that truly integrates their truths into our lives, fostering authentic development of our spiritual selves.

Themes

Spiritual GrowthMeditationTruthReflectionWisdom

In practice

Example use cases

In a spiritual retreat discussion, one might say this quote to emphasize the importance of personal reflection.

More from Frederick William Robertson

To turn water into wine, and what is common into what is holy, is indeed the glory of Christianity.
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The one who will be found in trial capable of great acts of love is ever the one who is always doing considerate small ones.
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No one can be great, or good, or happy except through the inward efforts of themselves.
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In these two things the greatness of man consists, to have God dwelling in us as to impart His character to us, and to have Him dwelling in us, that we recognize His presence, and know that we are His, and He is ours. The one is salvation; the other, the assurance of it.
Frederick William RobertsonRead
The office of poetry is not to make us think accurately, but feel truly.
Frederick William RobertsonRead
There are three things in the world that deserve no mercy, hypocrisy, fraud, and tyranny.
Frederick William RobertsonRead

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