Quotes about Grace
Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate.
— Henri Nouwen
God looks at his people as children of a family who are happy that those who have done only a little bit are as much loved as those who accomplish much.
— Henri Nouwen
What I do know with unwavering certainty is the heart of the father. It is a heart of limitless mercy.
— Henri Nouwen
I asked him how he had been able to take such a splendid picture. With a smile he said, "Well, I had only to be very patient and very attentive. It was only after a few hours of compliments that the lily was willing to let me take her picture.
— Henri Nouwen
God should be sought, but we cannot find God. We can only be found by him.
— Henri Nouwen
Jesus wants to make it clear that the God of whom he speaks is a God of compassion who joyously welcomes repentant sinners into his house.
— Henri Nouwen
The return to the Father from whom all fatherhood takes its name allows me to let my dad be no less than the good, loving, but limited human being he is, and to let my heavenly Father be the God whose unlimited, unconditional love melts away all resentments and anger and makes me free to love beyond the need to please or find approval.
— Henri Nouwen
God does not love the younger son more than the elder. In the story the father goes out to the elder son just as he did to the younger, urges him to come in, and says, "My son, you are with me always, and all I have is yours.
— Henri Nouwen
The joy at the dramatic return of the younger son in no way means that the elder son was less loved, less appreciated, less favored. The father does not compare the two sons. He loves them both with a complete love and expresses that love according to their individual journeys.
— Henri Nouwen
The story of the prodigal son is the story of a God who goes searching for me and who doesn't rest until he has found me.
— Henri Nouwen
God's compassion is described by Jesus not simply to show me how willing God is to feel for me, or to forgive me my sins and offer me new life and happiness, but to invite me to become like God and to show the same compassion to others as he is showing to me.
— Henri Nouwen
To give someone a blessing is the most significant affirmation we can offer. It is more than a word of praise or appreciation; it is more than pointing out someone's talents or good deeds; it is more than putting someone in the light. To give a blessing is to affirm, to say 'yes' to a person's Belovedness.
— Henri Nouwen