Trust and the Infinite
I came across this quote in a website about George MacDonald, and have gone back to it again and again. I've scrutinized it and chewed on it...is it right? Is it biblical? I'm challenged by it to remember how big my God is. Coincidentally, I was also reminded by a friend that I do not have to totally understand God's love and His grace, but I must totally trust in it.
"I firmly believe people have hitherto been a great deal too much taken up about doctrine and far too little about practice. The word doctrine, as used in the Bible, means teaching of duty, not theory. We are far too anxious to be definite and to have finished, well-polished, sharp-edged systems — forgetting that the more perfect a theory about the infinite, the surer it is to be wrong, the more impossible it is to be right."
--From a letter to his father, quoted in George MacDonald and His Wife by Greville MacDonald
"I firmly believe people have hitherto been a great deal too much taken up about doctrine and far too little about practice. The word doctrine, as used in the Bible, means teaching of duty, not theory. We are far too anxious to be definite and to have finished, well-polished, sharp-edged systems — forgetting that the more perfect a theory about the infinite, the surer it is to be wrong, the more impossible it is to be right."
--From a letter to his father, quoted in George MacDonald and His Wife by Greville MacDonald
posted by Elizabeth | 4:15 PM
7 Comments:
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Ha! Who needs the internet for dating? I can't seem to get away from it!!! I need a site called "How to make dating go away". I'll probably delete that internet dating comment tomorrow...so, if you feel desperate enough to date through the internet...better get click on that link now!
hey beth, this is blah blah blah is called blog spam. You can avoid it by changing the setting in your dashboard that says something about a keyword or codeword or something....anyone who posts has to type in the code that comes up on their screen. The spam you got cannot post then.
anyway, more importantly, I believe this quote wholeheartedly. Serving in churches, watching some older people who never ever get sweeter, but know their doctrine inside and out....they are the proof. I don't believe that we live half of what we "know" about God.
why am i posting at 1 am? I was painting here at home and I need to get back to the green room of quietness and steal some zzzzzzz
thanks, got that problem fixed :)
it's so interesting, to read that quote...which seems to fit so perfectly today, and realize it was written in the 1800's. we obviously aren't the only ones who struggle with trying to know what is too big to know (i guess even the pharisees in Jesus' time did that)
You have a great blog Beth!! I will be sure to read it every day to see what is going on. Maybe I might even start my own. I love you girl and can't wait to see you!!!
Hi Beth, you're post-modern and I can't talk to you anymore, sorry.
Just kidding what I meant to say was that I am going to print that quote and use it in all my classes and make a banner of it and run around with it during chapel.
(There's got to be a middle ground darn it all...)
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