| 
Tuesday, August 2, 2016The situation in which we find ourselves in this world seems to be a condition of estrangement from God, with little feeling of contact with Him, yet a curious nostalgic feeling that somewhere He exists and that our life would be much more complete if we were in relationship with Him. The deep, seemingly indestructible awareness of something like homesickness for God is the natural basis for believing in some kind of “fall”—we seem to remember something better and to be possessed to recapture it. There appears to be a gap, a chasm, between God and us which must be crossed if we are to be in relationship with him. We know that our own wrongdoing can widen the chasm: we are not so sure what will close it. Yet our first great need is not for a set of rules about how to be good: it is for something to bridge that yawning canyon between us and the God we dimly seem to remember but cannot entirely forget.
... Samuel M. Shoemaker (1893-1963), The Experiment of Faith, New York: Harper, 1957, p. 10
  (see the book; see also John 9:1-3; 2 Sam. 14:14; Ps. 58:3; Isa. 9:2; Matt. 11:5; John 11:4; 12:46; more at Existence, Fall, Forget, Knowing God, Need, Remembrance)  
  
Last updated: 
07/04/16Compilation Copyright, 1996-2024, by Robert McAnally Adams,
 Curator, Christian Quotation of the Day,
 with Robert Douglas, principal contributor
 Logo image Copyright 1996 by Shay Barsabe, of “Simple GIFs”, by kind permission.
 Send comments to curator@cqod.com.
    
 
 
 Fun stuff Tweet this      CQOD is now available to include on your personal home page, blog, or church web site—perfect for a sidebar.
To display CQOD on your web site, updating daily, copy the line below and paste directly into the position that CQOD should appear:
      <script type="text/javascript" src="https://cqod.com/js/"></script>
      To display this particular quotation on your web site, copy the line below and paste directly into the position that CQOD should appear:
      <script type="text/javascript" src="https://cqod.com/js/index-08-02-16.js"></script>
      For more information, see CQOD Web Home
 |  
 Welcome to the CQOD home page. This page changes daily, publishing a different 
quotation each day, so return here often. Many people use this page as their browser home page. Bookmark this page by pressing cntl-d.
 
  means text and bibliography have been verified. CQOD makes numerous features and links available. Here are some important links to help you get around:
 
    Previous day’s CQOD (Bonhoeffer)Following day’s CQOD (Traherne)
 This month’s CQODs
 
  
CQOD for today
 CQOD on the go!
 
 Use our double opt-in listserve to receive CQOD by email
 
 CQOD daily index
 All monthly archives
 What’s New on CQOD
 Author index
 Title index
 Poetry index
 Scripture index
 Subject index
 Search CQOD (or see below)
 CQOD Blog
 
 
  CQOD RSS 
 
  Facebook CQOD Fan Page 
  Follow CQOD on Twitter 
  Follow CQOD on Instagram
    About CQOD CQOD on the Web
 CQOD FAQ
 CQOD Liturgical Calendar
 
 Mere Christianity: a conversation
 Simple Songs for Psalms
 Quotations Bible Study
 Essays Archive
 Bookworms
 Spotlights
 
 Publications:
 Jonah: a miracle play
 Ruth: a play
 
 Also visit these organizations:
 Arab Vision
 Crescendo
 Oratorium
 More devotionals
 
 Search CQOD:
 
   |