Man goes far away or near but God never goes far-off; he is always standing close at hand, and even if he cannot stay within he goes no further than the door.

Meaning of the quote

God is always with us, no matter how far we go or how close we are. Even when we feel distant from God, He is just at the door, ready to welcome us back. No matter what, God is always close by and will never leave us.

About Meister Eckhart

Meister Eckhart was a renowned German Catholic priest, theologian, philosopher, and mystic who lived in the 13th and 14th centuries. He was a controversial figure who faced accusations of heresy, but his teachings and writings have continued to captivate scholars and spiritual seekers alike.

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More quotes from Meister Eckhart

Man goes far away or near but God never goes far-off; he is always standing close at hand, and even if he cannot stay within he goes no further than the door.

Meister Eckhart

German philosopher and theologian

God is at home, it’s we who have gone out for a walk.

Meister Eckhart

German philosopher and theologian

What a man takes in by contemplation, that he pours out in love.

Meister Eckhart

German philosopher and theologian

Only the hand that erases can write the true thing.

Meister Eckhart

German philosopher and theologian

If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.

Meister Eckhart

German philosopher and theologian

What we plant in the soil of contemplation, we shall reap in the harvest of action.

Meister Eckhart

German philosopher and theologian

The outward work will never be puny if the inward work is great.

Meister Eckhart

German philosopher and theologian

All God wants of man is a peaceful heart.

Meister Eckhart

German philosopher and theologian

When you are thwarted, it is your own attitude that is out of order.

Meister Eckhart

German philosopher and theologian

If God gave the soul his whole creation she would not be filled thereby but only with himself.

Meister Eckhart

German philosopher and theologian

A just person is one who is conformed and transformed into justice.

Meister Eckhart

German philosopher and theologian

God expects but one thing of you, and that is that you should come out of yourself in so far as you are a created being made and let God be God in you.

Meister Eckhart

German philosopher and theologian

The price of inaction is far greater than the cost of making a mistake.

Meister Eckhart

German philosopher and theologian

A human being has so many skins inside, covering the depths of the heart. We know so many things, but we don’t know ourselves! Why, thirty or forty skins or hides, as thick and hard as an ox’s or bear’s, cover the soul. Go into your own ground and learn to know yourself there.

Meister Eckhart

German philosopher and theologian

The outward man is the swinging door; the inner man is the still hinge.

Meister Eckhart

German philosopher and theologian

The knower and the known are one. Simple people imagine that they should see God as if he stood there and they here. This is not so. God and I, we are one in knowledge.

Meister Eckhart

German philosopher and theologian

He who would be serene and pure needs but one thing, detachment.

Meister Eckhart

German philosopher and theologian

Words derive their power from the original word.

Meister Eckhart

German philosopher and theologian

Every creature is a word of God.

Meister Eckhart

German philosopher and theologian

Truly, it is in darkness that one finds the light, so when we are in sorrow, then this light is nearest of all to us.

Meister Eckhart

German philosopher and theologian

The more we have the less we own.

Meister Eckhart

German philosopher and theologian

Do exactly what you would do if you felt most secure.

Meister Eckhart

German philosopher and theologian

There exists only the present instant… a Now which always and without end is itself new. There is no yesterday nor any tomorrow, but only Now, as it was a thousand years ago and as it will be a thousand years hence.

Meister Eckhart

German philosopher and theologian

To be full of things is to be empty of God. To be empty of things is to be full of God.

Meister Eckhart

German philosopher and theologian

You may call God love, you may call God goodness. But the best name for God is compassion.

Meister Eckhart

German philosopher and theologian

One person who has mastered life is better than a thousand persons who have mastered only the contents of books, but no one can get anything out of life without God.

Meister Eckhart

German philosopher and theologian

We are celebrating the feast of the Eternal Birth which God the Father has borne and never ceases to bear in all eternity… But if it takes not place in me, what avails it? Everything lies in this, that it should take place in me.

Meister Eckhart

German philosopher and theologian

The eye with which I see God is the same eye with which God sees me.

Meister Eckhart

German philosopher and theologian