But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ.
LORD, to Thy call of me I bow,
Obey like Abraham;
Thou lov'st me becaase Thou art Thou,
And I am what I am.
Doubt whispers, "thou art such a blot
He cannot love poor thee."
If what I am He loveth not, He loves what I shall be.
GEORGE MACDONALD
WE may hate ourselves when we come to realize failings we have not recognized before, and feel that there are probably others which we do not yet see as clearly as other people see them, but this kind of impatience for our perfection is not felt by those who love us, I am sure. It is one's greatest comfort to believe that it is not even felt by God. just as a mother would not love her child the better for its being turned into a model of perfection at once, but does love it the more dearly every time it tries to be good, so I do hope and believe our Great Father does not wait for us to be good and wise to love us, but loves us, and loves to help us in the very thick of our struggles with folly and sin.
JULIANA H. EWING
EDWARD MEYRICK GOULBURN
This is a public domain version of Joy and Strength.