But, for a Christian, there are, strictly speaking, no chances. A secret Master of the Ceremonies has been at work. Christ, who said to the disciples "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you," can truly say to every group of Christian friends "You have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another." The Friendship is not a reward for our discrimination and good taste in finding one another out. It is the instrument by which God reveals to each the beauties of all the others. They are no greater than the beauties of a thousand other men; by Friendship God opens our eyes to them. They are, like all beauties, derived from Him through the Friendship itself, so that it is His instrument for creating as well as for revealing. At this feast it is He who has spread the board and it is He who has chosen the guests. It is He, we may dare to hope, who sometimes does, and always should, preside. Let us not reckon without our Host.
C.S. Lewis
Related But for a Christian, there are, strictly speaking, no chances. A secret Master of Ceremonies has bee... C.S. LEWIS The Friendship is not a reward for our discrimination and good taste in finding one another out. IT ... C.S. LEWIS In friendship...we think we have chosen our peers. In reality a few years' difference in the dates o... C.S. LEWIS You have not chosen one another, but I have chosen you for one another. C.S. LEWIS Integrity is not everything, but it is the only thing that matters. JEFFREY FRY Feast of Harriet Monsell of Clewer, Religious, 1883 The fundamental note of the Old Testament, in... BENJAMIN B. WARFIELD 35. God is entitled to a portion of our income—not because He needs it but because we need to give... JAMES C. DOBSON We are children, perhaps, at the very moment when we know that it is as children that God loves us -... FREDERICK BUECHNER You Have Seen the Cure for Cancer Many Times, Even Right Now! So the Problem is Not Finding a Cure, ... THEHEALTHFOODGURU To be chosen as the Beloved of God is something radically different. Instead of excluding others, it... HENRI J.M. NOUWEN The Christian is in a different position from other people who are trying to be good. They hope, by ... C.S. LEWIS Life is not a game. Still, in this life, we choose the games we live to play. J.R. RIM Feast of Catherine of Siena, Mystic, Teacher, 1380 He has loved us without being loved... We are b... CATHERINE OF SIENA A songwriter should have friends who are similarly interested; should move about in the milieu of wo... DOROTHY FIELDS I like to open for a band as it brings on sort of a challenge and it makes things more interesting. ... KELLY JONES If we would build on a sure foundation in friendship, we must love friends for their sake rather th... CHARLOTTE BRONTE Wrong? So you are saying, I'm wrong okay then... It's not possible every time to be right, one ... DEYTH BANGER The fear of God is the only cure for the fear of people. CRAIG GROESCHEL Thus, for followers of Christ, calling neutralizes the fundamental position of choice in modern life... OS GUINNESS Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fr... BIBLE Empathy is the new measurement of everything. It doesn't matter what religion you have, what God you... C. JOYBELL C. You basically have a group of four spies who are chosen for a mission they feel for the fact of how ... MATT LEBLANC (All the grief she had suffered over her lifetime had moulded her face into a mask of eternal sadnes... JEAN SASSON I'm not an Emontional, but how??? I live with the thought that "Nothing can be returned, it has... DEYTH BANGER God does not lead all His servants by one road, nor in one way, nor at one time; for God is in all t... JOHN TAULER — This world is full of trouble, umfundisi. — Who knows it better? — Yet you believ... ALAN PATON Good Friday Feast of William Law, Priest, Mystic, 1761 Commemoration of William of Ockham, Fra... WILLIAM LAW He marveled at the strange blindness by which men, though they are so alert to what changes in thems... ALBERT CAMUS Holiness of life is not the privilege of a chosen few - it is the obligation, the call, and the will... MOTHER ANGELICA If we let ourselves believe that man began with divine grace, that he forfeited this by sin, and tha... BLAISE PASCAL The king may rule the kingdom, but it's the queen who moves the board. D.M. TIMNEY Commemoration of Brigid, Abbess of Kildare, c.525 Who belongs to the Church? Who is my true brot... ROBERT MACCOLL ADAMS For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not... BIBLE ...even the richest personality is nothing before he has chosen himself, and on the other hand even ... SøREN KIERKEGAARD For those of us who know and love him, it has been a truly heartbreaking experience, and we have cho... OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN The men who have succeeded are men who have chosen one line and stuck to it. ANDREW CARNEGIE Those who cannot conceive Friendship as a substantive love but only as a disguise or elaboration of ... C.S. LEWIS The answer isn't more time but a greater awareness of the time we have. CRAIG GROESCHEL That you did something bad is not enough to make you a bad person SOTONYE ANGA May I never neither turn left nor turn right in my journey of life, but may I go straight to Christ ... ERNEST AGYEMANG YEBOAH In all His acts God orders all things, whether good or evil, for the good of those who know Him and ... THOMAS MERTON It has been brought on us by activist judges who have chosen to ignore the will of the people and in... TODD AKIN There is a great difference between one idler and another idler. There is someone who is an idler ou... VINCENT VAN GOGH You went through the primary. You should have made such a decision before the primary. You were chos... ERIC THODE PEACE IS THE OBJECTIVE TO WAR, BUT THE BLOOD RUNNETH STILL NATALIE URQUIETA When I die it will be game over,... but I know one life is short, to be selfish is not the best deci... DEYTH BANGER How does it happen, Maecenas, that no one is content with that lot of which he has chosen or which c... HORACE If you have not chosen the Kingdom of God first, it will in the end make no difference what you have... WILLIAM LAW I do not know you, my friends, not individually, most of you, but this is the wonderful thing about ... D. MARTYN LLOYD-JONES Man does not live for himself alone in this mortal body, in order to work on its account, but also f... MARTIN LUTHER You have chosen freely for yourself'; a cloud passed over her face for a moment, I thought; 'and you... CHARLES DICKENS It is a lie. ARTHUR MILLER What determines our brotherhood is what that man is by reason of Christ. Our community with one anot... DIETRICH BONHOEFFER Feast of John Coleridge Patteson, First Bishop of Melanesia, & his Companions, Martyrs, 1871 Bu... MILFORD C. OLSON A martyrdom is always the design of God, for His love of men, to warn them and to lead them, to brin... T.S. ELIOT Commemoration of Scholastica, Abbess of Plombariola, c.543 Seven principles for eradicating selfish ... DIETRICH BONHOEFFER Almost certainly God is not in time. His life does not consist of moments one following another...Te... C.S. LEWIS Commemoration of Richard Rolle of Hampole, Writer, Hermit, Mystic, 1349 Love ... is very noticeabl... MEISTER ECKHART It is no compliment to be the stupidly idolised master of a dog whose instinct it is to idolise, but... H. P. LOVECRAFT Strife -- in philosophy, religion, and politics -- has certainly gained so much ground that it is im... JAN AMOS COMENIUS The breakfast was started as a symbol to promote friendship and harmony among the races in this comm... JUANDA MAXWELL What is evil neither can nor should be loved; for it is not one’s duty to be a lover of evil or to... ARISTOTLE You are who you are; it is not chosen it is cultivated… N. S. COLE Then I fell at his feet and thought, Surely this is the hour of death, for the Lion (who is worthy o... C.S. LEWIS Even you can’t tell yourself how to change, because you didn’t create you. To love someone is to... JOHN ORTBERG I have come to the conclusion that women believe marriage is proof that they have worth. It is the u... KRISTEN MCMAIN OAKS The best thing you can do for your kids is to show them God working in you on a daily basis. CRAIG GROESCHEL For the loss of those we have loved there is no alleviation but time and carefully and rationally ch... GEORG CHRISTOPH LICHTENBERG We did not receive this destiny by ourselves, God has chosen it for us SUNDAY ADELAJA It was a really good experience for all of us. We each used our platforms to make other statements b... ERYKAH BADU To most people loneliness is a doom. Yet loneliness is the very thing which God has chosen to be one... BERNARD M. MARTIN Why is it that it is often easier for us to confess our sins to God than to a brother? God is holy a... DIETRICH BONHOEFFER I'm fucking the grave, I thought, I'm bringing the dead back to life... CHARLES BUKOWSKI God wanted to redeem men and open the way of salvation to those who seek Him. But men make themselve... BLAISE PASCAL Iowa has sent notice that the Republican nominee for the next president of the United States will no... TED CRUZ "Who hates his neighbor has not the rights of a child." And not only has he no rights as a child, he... SØREN KIERKEGAARD The love you get, is equal to the love you give. BEN OAK Atheism is without God. It does not assert no God. The atheist does not say that there is no God, bu... CHARLES BRADLAUGH Feast of Mark the Evangelist The first article of Christian faith is that man has one and only on... DANIEL DAY WILLIAMS His life seemed like a deck of cards, and in the midst of all those two’s and three’s someone ha... TEKOA MANNING Truly, my dear young friends, you are a chosen generation. I hope you will never forget it. I hope y... GORDON B. HINCKLEY An obscure character by the name of Belial. He is interpreted as a minion of the devil by some schol... MATTHEW PEARL Having been shown the possibility that God exists, the atheist has
chosen not to accept it. They hav... LEWIS N. ROE You release the pain of the past and press on. It's a new day, and God is doing a new thing. He want... CRAIG GROESCHEL Those who love their dream of a Christian community more than they love the Christian community itse... DIETRICH BONHOEFFER Though no one notices at the time, in-loveness obliterates the humanity of the beloved. One does a c... ROBERT A. JOHNSON In business, you must remain unattached to the outcome. It matters not who is chosen first and who i... LAURA MONCUR I hear of a convention to be held at Baltimore, or elsewhere, for the selection of a candidate for t... HENRY DAVID THOREAU Romans 3:19-26. To help us examine that passage, I will quote it here in its entirety. Now we know t... JERRY BRIDGES The foolish of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of god is stronger than men. For ye see your ... MADELEINE L'ENGLE Feast of John and Charles Wesley, Priests, Poets, Teachers, 1791 & 1788 He was but a heathen that ... JOHN DONNE Apparently, lesbians and gay men who have no desire "to become queer" have failed at a task that is ... BRUCE BAWER Every noble work is bound to face problems and obstacles. It is important to check your goal and mot... DALAI LAMA Tell your story to the universe and Let your actions speak LOVE.' No matter what it is. NAPZ CHERUB PELLAZO He's for you and wants to help you be the person He created you to be. CRAIG GROESCHEL Feast of the Naming & Circumcision of Jesus A LETTER FROM PAUL THE MISSIONARY TO THE SOCIETY OF CH... C. HAROLD DODD Feast of Alban, first Martyr of Britain, c.209 Continuing a short series on authenticity: There ... GEORGE MACDONALD Prayer is the movement of trust, of gratitude, of adoration, or of sorrow, that places us before God... THOMAS MERTON Continuing a short series about the early church: As to the Emperor and the charge of high treas... TERTULLIAN All men have stars, but they are not the same things for different people. For some, who are travele... ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPéRY
More C.S. Lewis
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LEWIS To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you. C.S. LEWIS The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good be... C.S. LEWIS If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explana... C.S. LEWIS Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if y... C.S. LEWIS You have not chosen one another, but I have chosen you for one another. C.S. LEWIS When the two people who thus discover that they are on the same secret road are of different sexes, ... C.S. LEWIS In friendship...we think we have chosen our peers. In reality a few years' difference in the dates o... C.S. LEWIS Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.... It has no survival value; rather it is one ... C.S. LEWIS Friendship ... is born at the moment when one man says to another "What! You too? I thought that no ... C.S. LEWIS Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil. C.S. LEWIS The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts. C.S. LEWIS I think that if God forgives us we must forgive ourselves. Otherwise, it is almost like setting up o... C.S. LEWIS There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which every one in the world loathes when he... C.S. LEWIS A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you're looking d... C.S. LEWIS They tell me, Lord, that when I seem To be in speech with you. Since but one voice is heard, i... C.S. LEWIS Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences,... C.S. LEWIS Friendship, then, like the other natural loves, is unable to save itself. In reality, because it is ... C.S. LEWIS The typical expression of opening Friendship would be something like, 'What? You too? I thought I wa... C.S. LEWIS Once when I had remarked on the affection quite often found between cat and dog, my friend replied, ... C.S. LEWIS Alone among unsympathetic companions, I hold certain views and standards timidly, half ashamed to av... C.S. LEWIS We hear a great deal about the rudeness of the ris- ing generation. I am an oldster myself and... C.S. LEWIS Man approaches God most nearly when he is in one sense least like God. For what can be more unlike t... C.S. LEWIS No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear. C.S. LEWIS And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history—money, poverty, am... C.S. LEWIS You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me. C.S. LEWIS Sleeping on a dragon's hoard with greedy, dragonish thoughts in his heart, he had become a dragon hi... C.S. LEWIS I desired dragons with a profound desire. C.S. LEWIS What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on wh... C.S. LEWIS Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole w... C.S. LEWIS You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of... C.S. LEWIS But I will not tell you how long or short the way will be; only that it lies across a river. But do ... C.S. LEWIS You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve," said Aslan. "And that is both honour enough to erect th... C.S. LEWIS Once a King in Narnia, always a King in Narnia. But don't go trying to use the same route twice. Ind... C.S. LEWIS People often think of Christian morality as a kind of bargain in which God says, 'If you keep a lot ... C.S. LEWIS The real problem is not why some pious, humble, believing people suffer, but why some do not. C.S. LEWIS We can rest contentedly in our sins and in our stupidities, and anyone who has watched gluttons shov... C.S. LEWIS I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen; not only because I see it, but becaus... C.S. LEWIS In reading Chesterton, as in reading MacDonald, I did not know what I was letting myself in for. A y... C.S. LEWIS Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies t... C.S. LEWIS Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours. C.S. LEWIS I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give... C.S. LEWIS Surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of a man he... C.S. LEWIS You are told to love your neighbour as yourself. How do you love yourself? When I look into my own m... C.S. LEWIS We were promised sufferings. They were part of the program. We were even told, Blessed are they that... C.S. LEWIS If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explan... C.S. LEWIS All joy emphasises our pilgrim status; always reminds, beckons, awakens desire. Our best havings are... C.S. LEWIS A faith in culture is as bad as a faith in religion; both expressions imply a turning away from thos... C.S. LEWIS Faith... is the art of holding on to things your reason once accepted, despite your changing moods. C.S. LEWIS What I like about experience is that it is such an honest thing. You may take any number of wrong tu... C.S. LEWIS If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precis... C.S. LEWIS Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave with regret? There are better things ahead ... C.S. LEWIS Aim at heaven, and you will get earth thrown in; aim at earth, and you will get neither. C.S. LEWIS “If we insist on keeping Hell (or even Earth) we shall not see Heaven: if we accept Heaven we ... C.S. LEWIS To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possib... C.S. LEWIS If, as I can't help suspecting, the dead also feel the pains of separation (and this may be one of t... C.S. LEWIS Humans are amphibians -- half spirit and half animal. As spirits they belong to the eternal world, b... C.S. LEWIS I like bats much better than bureaucrats. I live in the Managerial Age, in a world of Admin. The gre... C.S. LEWIS The salvation of a single soul is more important than the production or preservation of all the epic... C.S. LEWIS Can a mortal ask questions which God finds unanswerable? Quite easily, I should think. All nonsense ... C.S. LEWIS The thing is to rely on God. The time will come when you will regard all this misery as a small pric... C.S. LEWIS We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade, the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him. He walk... C.S. LEWIS