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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.
George Macdonald
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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

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
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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.
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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.
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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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