One chapter that has grabbed my attention of late is "The Universal Presence." Here are a few favorite quotes:
"What now does the divine immanence mean in direct Christian experience? It means simply that God is here. Wherever we are, God is here. There is no place, there can be no place, where he is not. No one is in mere distance any further from or any nearer to God than any other person is. (p. 62)
"The Presence and the manifestation of the Presence are not the same. There can be one without the other. God is here when we are wholly unaware of His Presence. His manifest
only when and as we are aware of His Presence. (p. 64)
"The approach of God to the soul or of the soul to God is not to be thought of in spatial terms
at all. There is no idea of physical distance involved in the concept. It is not a matter of miles but of experience. (p. 65)
"I venture to suggest that the one vital quality which they (those in history who knew God
intimately) had in common was spiritual receptivity. Something in them was open to heaven, something urged them Godward. They had spiritual awareness and they went on to cultivate it until it became the biggest thing in their lives. They acquired the lifelong habit of spiritual response." (p. 67)
Lord Christ, I pray for spiritual receptivity. I want to be open to heaven. I desire to live with a Godward look. Increase my spiritual awareness. Show me how to cultivate this. Grant me the lifelong habit of spiritual response. In Jesus name, Amen.