Quotes About Acceptance

The Father's love reflects the Father's character, not the children's behavior. My behavior—whether responsible or irresponsible—is beside the point. Responsible behavior does not increase the Father's love, nor does irresponsible behavior decrease it.

In order for our knowing of God's love to be truly transformational, it must become the basis of our identity. Our identity is who we experience ourselves to be—the I each of us carries within. An identity grounded in God would mean that when we think of who we are, the first thing that would come to mind is our status as someone who is deeply loved by God.

Until we are willing to accept the unpleasant truths of our existence, we rationalize or deny responsibility for our behavior.

If God loves and accepts you as a sinner, how can you do less? You can never be other than who you are until you are willing to embrace the reality of who you are. Only then can you truly become who you are most deeply called to be.

Guilt is not enough to motivate surrender.

Real knowing of ourselves can only occur after we are convinced that we are deeply loved precisely as we are. The fact that God loves and knows us as sinners makes it possible for us to know and love our self as sinner. It all starts with knowing God's love.

It is surprising how we fight against Love's accepting what we do not want to accept in ourselves—our defective, wounded, malicious self. But what a transformation when we can accept this poor self and allow love in!

Grace is totally alien to human psychology. We want to get our house in order and then let God love and accept us. The psychology of works-righteousness and self-certification is foundational to the human psyche and totally at odds with grace.

It is surrender to love that I really resist. I am willing to accept measured doses of love as long as it doesn't upset the basic framework of my world. That framework is built on the assumption that people get what they deserve. That's what I really want.

The spiritual life of one person should never be a carbon copy of that of another. Peter and John had quite different personalities and quite different transformational journeys as they followed Jesus. Mary and Martha, two sisters whom Jesus loved deeply, each expressed their love for him uniquely. And he received both, not discouraging Martha from busying herself in service, simply encouraging her to not fret in doing so (Luke 10:38-42).

if love connects us to life, it offers us a life that we can no longer control. No longer can I choose whom I will love and whom I will ignore.

Surrender involves relaxing, and you must feel safe before you can relax. How could anyone ever expect to feel safe enough to relax in the presence of a God who is preoccupied with their shortcomings

After several years of hellfire sermons, I did what any reasonable ten-year-old child would do under the circumstances—I accepted Christ into my heart and began seeking to live a life that would please God.

We all dream of home," said Mrs. Szince. "We dream of a place where what we are is right, where what we can do is the right thing.

Let others hail the rising sun:I bow to that whose course is run.

Do not complain of life's unfairness. It is never fair - at best it is impartial.

a stoic always kept two files in his mind: one for those things that are up to him and within his power, and one for those that are not up to him and thus beyond his power. If you pay lots of attention to events beyond your power, you will ultimately have a life of fear and guilt; you must let those go and pay attention only to those things within your power.

Life is hard. Then you die. Then they throw dirt in your face. Then the worms eat you. Be grateful it happens in that order

I lost my spinal column a good many years ago. There ain't no surgery can put it back. Even if there was, I wouldn't want it. I like it better this way. More comfortable.

What was Audrey to do then but make peace with her reality. Or try.

There is every reason to believe that sceptics and non-conformists exist in every human society; what varies is how others react to them.

I try to approach every day with hands that are open, not grasping.

Als dat klopt, als je je echt tussen haakjes voelt, laat mij dan tenminste ook binnen. De rest van de wereld mag buiten blijven, laat de wereld maar de factor buiten de haakjes zijn waarmee wij binnen vermenigvuldigd worden.

And this book was an attempt to be with these feelings, also to find a place that will allow both to remember all the time without dying of it and to forget without killing.