I used to wander off until you disciplined me; but now I closely follow your word.
Surround me with your tender mercies so I may live, for your instructions are my delight.
Psalm 119:67, 77
“Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins. Soon your descendants will come back, and all who are trying to destroy you will go away.
Isaiah 49:15–17
Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?
Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was.
Romans 6:1–2, 5
If you must be heard, let it be like the babbling brook,
laughing over the rocks.
If you must be seen, let it be like sunlight
giving warmth and comfort to all.
If you must be acknowledged, let it be as the eyes
behold the skies in all their glory.
If you must lead, let it be like the wind and all its unshackled direction.
If you must learn, let it be like breathing,
the natural flow of in and out,
and done without thinking.
If you must teach, let it be like the water,
deep and flowing,
for your words are like pebbles in a pond,
the ripples they cause spread out in all directions,
and what you give out eventually returns.
If you must know, let it be flowing and growing.
And above all, if you must:
shine!