OUR LIFE AS A WRECK--CONFORMITY TO CHRIST
"We must not pass to harsh judgment on ourselves or others when God exercises us with bruising upon bruising; there must be
conformity to our Head, Christ, who was bruised for us (Isaiah 53:5), that we my know how much we are bound to Him. Profane people, ignorant of God's ways in bringing His children to heaven, censure broken-hearted Christians as "desperate persons"
when God is going about a gracious good work with them."
Richard Sibbes, THE BRUISED REED; Banner of Truth

HOW TO AVOID A BROKEN HEART
"To love at all is to be vulnerable.
Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken.
If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even an animal.
Wrap it carefully round with hobbies, and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket, or coffin of
your selfishness.
But in that casket--safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change.
It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable."
C. S. LEWIS, THE FOUR LOVES; p. 121

THE GOSPEL IS FOR CHRISTIANS
"There is nothing in or done by us, at any stage of our earthly development, because of which we are acceptable to God.
We must always be accepted for Christ's sake, or we cannot ever be accepted at all. This is not true of us only when we first believe. It is just as true after we have believed. It will continue to be our trust as long as we live. Our need of Christ does not cease with our believing; nor does the nature of our relation to Him or to God through Him ever after change, no matter what our attainments in Christian graces or our achievements in behavior may be. It is always on 'His blood and righteousness' alone that we can rest."
BENJAMIN B. WARFIELD