Patricia Hofer

Studying Christianity In a nondenominational way

It was only as I started studying Christianity in a nondenominational way that I started to see the broader canvas of God’s love and purpose. Hannah Whitall Smith, who was heavily involved in a revival movement that focused on “the deepening of the Spiritual life,” writes: “In all Denominations, even where in other respects they may seem to hold widely diverging views, there have always been those who have understood and lived the life of faith, not only among the Methodists, but among the Quakers and among the Catholics as well, and in fact it is I believe at the bottom of the creeds of every Church. (The Unselfishness of God 177) …
Now I personally can’t imagine what eternal life would be without Christ, the living, compassionate and helpful Saviour at my side. … Still, I don’t see it as my job, or anyone’s job, to determine how God’s justifying and sanctifying grace plays out in the lives of people. I just pray along with George MacDonald when he says: “O Father, thou art All-in-all, perfect beyond the longing of thy children, and we are all and altogether thine. Thou wilt make us pure and loving and free. We shall stand fearless in thy presence, because perfect in thy love.” (Knowing the Heart of God 349 or Unspoken Sermons, “Love Thine Enemy”—as quoted in Yielding to Wonder 97)

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