Quotes about Reflection

Am I absorbed with an Ethic from Beyond? Is my life too absorbed with the here and now?

For some it is tempting to use only set prayers, while for others it is almost a solemn requirement to use only spontaneous prayers. We need both,

The test results also suggest that, even though we like to think we are becoming more like Jesus, the reverse is probably more the case: we try to make Jesus like ourselves. Which means, to one degree or another, we are all Rorschachers; we all project onto Jesus our own image.

This idea, that we are to live in a way that reflects who God is, fills the pages of the New Testament (see 1 John 4:7—12). God's love—seen in sun and rain—is showered on all humans, both "the evil and the good" or "the righteous and the unrighteous," which stands for the "observant" and "nonobservant.

we need to think about that future more often. I confess I don't. My mind is tied too much to the here and now and not enough to God's future kingdom.

Some people read the Bible as if its passages were Rorschach inkblots. They see what is in their head. In more sophisticated language, they project onto the Bible what they want to see.

It ain't those parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me; it is the parts I do understand." Whoever said that may well have been thinking about Matthew 5 or even our specific passage.

Calvin saw in the words "Do not judge" a tendency to become overly curious about the sins of others (including those closest to us) that needed to be checked and handed over to God—who alone is the Judge.

Prayer was and is both a spontaneous act and a recitative

If you compare the written prayers from the psalms, the Lord's Prayer, or those we find in the prayer books of the church, one thing will immediately strike any reader: The prayers from those sources are theologically rich and aesthetically appropriate. I cannot always say this of the spontaneous prayers of many Christians—and I am not impugning their motives or questioning their hearts.

I would say to today's young minister, 'Be not afraid to give much time to solitary walks and meditation'.

Seven hours to law, to soothing slumber seven, Ten to the world allot, and all to heaven.