Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance. It is laying hold of His willingness.
Martin LutherRead
No one would be happier than Luther to be commended by the testimony of the time that he had been neither slack nor deceitful in maintaining the course of truth, but had shown quite enough and even too much vehemence.
Interpretation
The quote reflects Luther's commitment to truth and the sincerity with which he pursued it.
In this quote, Martin Luther expresses a deep desire to be recognized for his unwavering dedication to truth and integrity. He acknowledges that he has not only upheld the truth with passion but has perhaps gone beyond what was necessary to defend it. This underscores the importance of genuine commitment and the struggle for authenticity in the face of challenges.
In practice
In a discussion about ethical leadership, this quote serves as a reminder of the value of truthfulness.
Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance. It is laying hold of His willingness.
Now if I believe in God's Son and remember that He became man, all creatures will appear a hundred times more beautiful to me than before. Then I will properly appreciate the sun, the moon, the stars, trees, apples, as I reflect that he is Lord over all things. ...God writes the Gospel, not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars.
It is the part of a Christian to take care of his own body for the very purpose that, by its soundness and wellbeing, he may be enabled to labour, and to acquire and preserve property, for the aid of those who are in want, that thus the stronger member may serve the weaker member, and we may be children of God, and busy for one another, bearing one another's burdens, and so fulfiling the law of Christ.
Reason is the greatest enemy that faith has; it never comes to the aid of spiritual things, but more frequently than not struggles against the divine Word, treating with contempt all that emanates from God.
We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands.
In a mouse we admire God's creation and craft work. The same may be said about flies.
The most savory grape, the one that produces the wines with best texture and aroma, the sweetest and most generous, doesn't grow in rich soil but in stony land; the plant, with a mother's obstinacy, overcomes obstacles to thrust its roots deep into the ground and take advantage of every drop of water. That, my grandmother explained to me, is how flavors are concentrated in the grape.
The most deadly disease truly is the failure of the heart.
How can you make sense of the future when you only have data about the past?
In the intellectual order, the virtue of humility is nothing more nor less than the power of attention.
Shame is the most powerful, master emotion. It's the fear that we're not good enough.
We listen to those whom we know to be of the same opinion as ourselves, and we call them wise for being of it; but we avoid such as differ from us.
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