on obedience & hard-headedness

Isaiah 45

[9] " 'Woe to the one who quarrels with his maker -- an earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth! Will the clay say to the potter, 'What are you doing?' Or the thing you are making say, 'He has no hands?'

[10] 'Woe to him who says to a father, 'What are you begetting?' Or to a woman, 'To what are you giving birth?' "

there is no other

Isaiah 45

> Tao

[5] " 'I am he LORD, and there is no other; besides me there is no God.
[6] ... there is no one besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other.

> Yin-Yang

[7] ... I am the LORD who does all these (forming light and creating darkness, causing sell-being and creating calamity).

temporary anger, everlasting love

Isaiah 54
[8] "In an outburst of WRATH, for a moment I hid my face from you; but with ENDURING LOVE I take pity on you, says the LORD, your redeemer.
[9] "this is for me like the days of Noah ... so I have sworn not to be ANGRY with you, or to rebuke you.
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[10] though the mountains leave their place and the hills be shaken, my LOVE shall never leave you nor my covenant of peace be shaken, says the LORD, who has MERCY on you."

Psalm 30
[5] "For his ANGER lasts but a moment; a lifetime, his GOOD WILL. At nightfall, weeping enters in, but with the dawn, rejoicing."

seek, pursue him

"Let us SEEK him who alone can give us back our liberty. Let us PURSUE him constantly with our desire whose beauty wounds hearts, drawing them towards him by our actions.

Let us not allow anyone, whoever he may be, to forestall us or deceive us and DISTRACT us from our search...."

-- St. Symeon (+ 1022, Greek Orthodox monk)