Welcome to The Week In Words, where we share quotes from the last week’s reading. If something you read this past week  inspired you, caused you to laugh, cry, think, dream, or just resonated with you in some way, please share it with us, attributing it to its source, which can be a book, newspaper, blog, Facebook — anything that you read. More information is here.

Forgive me, I am running late today. But here are a few quotes that spoke to me this week:

From Robin Lee Hatcher‘s Facebook page:

“Without love for God & His Word, [our obedience is] just trying to be good. Nothing will wear you out faster.” Beth Moore

I’ve never read a Beth Moore book or Bible study, but I can attest to the truth of this statement.

From The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis:

But as for Aslan himself, the Beavers and the children didn’t know what to do or say when they saw him. People who have not been in Narnia sometimes think that a thing cannot be good and terrible at the same time. If the children had ever thought so, they were cured of it now. For when they tried to look at Aslan’s face they just caught a glimpse of the golden mane and the great, royal, solemn, overwhelming eyes; and then they found they couldn’t look at him and went all trembly.

For those who might not know, Aslan the lion is the Christ figure in the Narnia stories, and I thought this was a sweet and lovely depiction trying to explain his being both good and terrible (terrible not meaning “bad” here but inspiring awe, as in these verses.)  Sometimes I have tried to reconcile in my own mind how we can think of Christ as an elder brother and friend and God as an “Abba” father, and yet, as John, the closest disciple to Christ, fall on his face as dead when we see Him in all His glory. The closest parallel that comes to mind is what it might be like when a child of royalty sees his parent “in state” at a royal function all decked out in royal garb with pomp and ceremony.

From Beyond Suffering by Layton Talbert:

Commenting on Job being a man who “eschewed evil“: The Hebrew verb means to recoil and to go out of one’s way to avoid. Job feared God and was frightened of evil because he understood the true nature of each. Being frightened of evil is not a sign of immaturity or paranoia. It is the same sane aversion to danger that my nephew has to peanuts: they may appear harmless but he knows they can kill him (p. 29).

And later commenting on some people’s disagreeing with James’s assessment of the patience of Job: This Biblical virtue is not a sappy, carefree cheeriness. It is a manly word that means to ‘remain under’ whatever pressure or pain one is presently enduring from the hand of God. Patience is fortitude under adversity. Job struggled to maintain his integrity and his faith under great duress. (p. 32).

Finally, from the July 1 reading of The Invitation by Derick Bingham:

The Lord Jesus got down below the level of their couches and washed their feet, gently. So if we would seek to correct, say, someone’s attitude problem, we must not do it in an arrogant and proud manner, else we will do them more harm than good. Humility of attitude and helpfulness goes a long way to guiding those who have bee soiled to a place of cleansing. If you would be a true foot-washer, imitate the Lord’s method. Christians are often hopeless at this ministry simply because they are not willing to stoop low enough.

Much food for thought today!

If you’ve read anything that particularly spoke to you that you’d like to share, please either list it in the comments below or write a post on your blog and then put the link to that post (not your general blog link) in Mr. Linky below. I do ask that only family-friendly quotes be included.

I hope you’ll visit some of the other participants as well and glean some great thoughts to ponder. And don’t forget to leave a comment here, even if you don’t have any quotes to share!