Brooks: the background of life

Monday, January 23, 2023
    Commemoration of Phillips Brooks, Bishop of Massachusetts, spiritual writer, 1893
Meditation:
    For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.
    —1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 (NIV)
Quotation:
    So [it is] when the priority of existence is seen to rest in a Person, and the background of life is God. Then every new arrival instantly reports itself to Him, and is described in terms of its relationship to Him. Every activity of ours answers to some previous activity of His. Do we hope? It is because we have caught the sound of some promise of His. Do we fear? It is because we have had some glimpse of the dreadfulness of getting out of harmony with Him. Are we curious and inquiring? It is that we may learn some of His truth. Do we resist evil? We are fighting His enemies. Do we help need? We are relieving His children. Do we love Him? It is an answer of gratitude for His love to us. Do we live? It is a projection and extension of His being. Do we die? It is the going home of our immortal souls to Him.
    ... Phillips Brooks (1835-1893), The Light of the World, and Other Sermons, New York: E. P. Dutton, 1904, p. 45 (see the book)
    See also 1 Thess. 5:9-10; John 3:16; 15:16; Rom. 14:7-8; 2 Cor. 5:14-15; Gal. 2:19-20; Eph. 2:3-5; 1 John 4:10,19
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You reshape my world. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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