“Our imaginations are so stilted. The very thought of being like Jesus is breathtaking.”

“You civilised fellows are all cowards. Great men never look at a person’s exterior. They think of his heart.”

“El porqué de todo Porque de Él, por Él y para Él son todas las cosas. A Él sea la gloria para siempre. ROMANOS 11:36 (LBLA) Toda obra del SEñOR tiene un propósito. PROVERBIOS 16:4 (NVI) TODO ES PARA él. El objetivo final del universo es mostrar la gloria de Dios. La gloria de Dios es el porqué de la existencia de todo, incluida tu persona. Dios hizo todo para su gloria. Sin la gloria de Dios, no habría nada.”

“A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be.”

“RESPONSE TO POLITICAL SMEAR TO ROBERT ALLEN New Salem, June 21, 1836 DEAR COLONEL:—I am told that during my absence last week you passed through this place, and stated publicly that you were in possession of a fact or facts which, if known to the public, would entirely destroy the prospects of N. W. Edwards and myself at the ensuing election; but that, through favor to us, you should forbear to divulge them. No one has needed favors more than I, and, generally, few have been less unwilling to accept them; but in this case favor to me would be injustice to the public, and therefore I must beg your pardon for declining it. That I once had the confidence of the people of Sangamon, is sufficiently evident; and if I have since done anything, either by design or misadventure, which if known would subject me to a forfeiture of that confidence, he that knows of that thing, and conceals it, is a traitor to his country’s interest. I find myself wholly unable to form any conjecture of what fact or facts, real or supposed, you spoke; but my opinion of your veracity will not permit me for a moment to doubt that you at least believed what you said. I am flattered with the personal regard you manifested for me; but I do hope that, on more mature reflection, you will view the public interest as a paramount consideration, and therefore determine to let the worst come. I here assure you that the candid statement of facts on your part, however low it may sink me, shall never break the tie of personal friendship between us. I wish an answer to this, and you are at liberty to publish both, if you choose. Very respectfully, A. LINCOLN.”

“The important thing is never to stop questioning.”

“I know, I have seen, the desperation and disorder of the powerless: how it twists the lives of children on the streets of Jakarta or Nairobi in much the same way as it does the lives of children on Chicago’s South Side, how narrow the path is for them between humiliation and untrammeled fury, how easily they slip into violence and despair. I know that the response of the powerful to this disorder—alternating as it does between a dull complacency and, when the disorder spills out of its proscribed confines, a steady, unthinking application of force, of longer prison sentences and more sophisticated military hardware—is inadequate to the task. I know that the hardening of lines, the embrace of fundamentalism and tribe, dooms us all. And so what was a more interior, intimate effort on my part, to understand this struggle and to find my place in it, has converged with a broader public debate, a debate in which I am professionally engaged, one that will shape our lives and the lives of our children for many years to come.

“I missed the joy of seeing our children grow and change. I thank God for watching over them during those years.”

“By the 1960s the United States had a new ruling class—the teenager!”

“We cannot be satisfied with our goodness after beholding the holiness of God.”

“Renunciation without aversion is not lasting.”

“Instincts under pressure crush the carbon of conformity and create diamonds. Each new season of life offers to train us for the next season if we pay attention and adapt.”

“Quando entendemos o ponto de vista do próximo — entendemos o que ele está tentando fazer nove entre dez vezes ele está tentando fazer o que é certo.”

“The Bible is a record of sin, deceit, immorality of every kind, disobedience, hypocrisy and God’s amazing grace and love. The heroes we admire were people just like us. They failed miserably at times, they sinned regularly, and yet they found love, acceptance, forgiveness and mercy to be the free gifts of God. His love drew them into intimate relationship with Him, empowered them to do great things, and taught them to enjoy the life that He has provided.”

“I'm not where I need to be, but Thank God I'm not where I use to be. I'm okay and I'm on my way!”