---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We can be redeemed only to the extent to…"
description: "\"We can be redeemed only to the extent to which we see ourselves.\" — Martin Buber"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca4/martin-buber-2381_empathy_we-can-be-redeemed-only-to-the-extent-to_350709.jpg"
---

#  We can be redeemed only to the extent to which we see…

![“We can be redeemed only to the extent to which we see ourselves.” quote by Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca4/martin-buber-2381_empathy_we-can-be-redeemed-only-to-the-extent-to_350709.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca4/martin-buber-2381_empathy_we-can-be-redeemed-only-to-the-extent-to_350709.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca4/martin-buber-2381_empathy_we-can-be-redeemed-only-to-the-extent-to_350709.jpg)

> “We can be redeemed only to the extent to which we see ourselves.”

[Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Redemption depends on self-awareness; seeing ourselves clearly enables true transformation.

**In simple terms:** Know yourself to be redeemed.

Key Takeaway

Self‑knowledge leads to redemption.

Themes

self‑awareness redemption philosophy identity

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- therapy
- spiritual practice
- conflict resolution
- personal growth

Key Concepts

existentialism humanism self‑reflection

Questions to Reflect On

- What aspects of yourself are you avoiding?
- How does self‑knowledge change your actions?

A Different Perspective

Self‑perception can be distorted, hindering redemption.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Empathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empathy/) [Extent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extent/) [Redeemed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/redeemed/) [Redeemed Extent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/redeemed-extent-3239353/)

## Related quotes

> [In the beginning was the relationship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/in-the-beginning-was-the-relationship/)

[Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/)

> [All actual life is encounter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/all-actual-life-is-encounter/)

[Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/)

> [I am part of the Fellowship of the Unashamed... My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is in God's hands...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-madrid/i-am-part-of-the-fellowship-of-the-unashamed-my-past-is-redeemed-my/)

[Patrick Madrid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-madrid/)

> [“What we think about, we speak; what we dwell on, we become. Our past is only important because it has been and is being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hawkes-valente-sarah/what-we-think-about-we-speak-what-we-dwell-on-we-become-our-past-is/)

[Hawkes Valente, Sarah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hawkes-valente-sarah/)

> [Human beings can be redeemed. Empires cannot. Our refusal to face the truth about empire, our refusal to defy the multitudinous crimes and atrocities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/human-beings-can-be-redeemed-empires-cannot-our-refusal-to-face-the/)

[Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/)

> [The one who always strives, That one can be redeemed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-one-who-always-strives-that-one-can-be-redeemed/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [“How can we fully appreciate the redemption Jesus performed unless we fully understand from what we were redeemed?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-sanchez/how-can-we-fully-appreciate-the-redemption-jesus-performed-unless-we/)

[Steve Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-sanchez/)

> [Jesus, I don't want to be a secret keeper with my faith. I want to be a bold and gracious truth proclaimer. For You.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysa-terkeurst/jesus-i-don-t-want-to-be-a-secret-keeper-with-my-faith-i-want-to-be-a/)

[Lysa TerKeurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysa-terkeurst/)

> [Wake up Ethiopia! Wake up Africa! Let us work towards the one glorious end of a free, redeemed and mighty nation. Let Africa be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-garvey/wake-up-ethiopia-wake-up-africa-let-us-work-towards-the-one-glorious/)

[Marcus Garvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-garvey/)

> [“Remember, this is important: Never trust that you will be redeemed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-boyden/remember-this-is-important-never-trust-that-you-will-be-redeemed/)

[Amanda Boyden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-boyden/)

> [No matter how much you've sinned, no matter how much you've stumbled, no matter how much you fall, no matter how far you've got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-cash/no-matter-how-much-you-ve-sinned-no-matter-how-much-you-ve-stumbled/)

[Johnny Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-cash/)

> [I'm interested in stories which insist on a dog fails-to-eat-dog kind of world. I hate misanthropy, want to believe that there's a possibility that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-minghella/i-m-interested-in-stories-which-insist-on-a-dog-fails-to-eat-dog-kind/)

[Anthony Minghella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-minghella/)

> [Begbie offers an additional valuable contribution by rejecting the traditional emphasis on beauty, in its Platonic sense, and instead suggesting that beauty be reconceived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/begbie-offers-an-additional-valuable-contribution-by-rejecting-the/)

[John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/)

> [How vast the benefits divine which we in Christ possess! We are redeemed from guilt and shame and called to holiness. But not for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustus-toplady/how-vast-the-benefits-divine-which-we-in-christ-possess-we-are/)

[Augustus Toplady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustus-toplady/)

> [Our civilization cannot survive materially unless it is redeemed spiritually. It can be saved only by becoming permeated with the Spirit of Christ, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/our-civilization-cannot-survive-materially-unless-it-is-redeemed/)

[Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/)

## More by Martin Buber

> [This is the sacrifice: the endless possibility that is offered up on the altar of the form...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/this-is-the-sacrifice-the-endless-possibility-that-is-offered-up-on/)

[Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/)

> [Mundus vult decipi: the world wants to be deceived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/mundus-vult-decipi-the-world-wants-to-be-deceived/)

[Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/)

> [Greatness by nature includes a power, but not a will to power. ... The great man, whether we comprehend him in the most intense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/greatness-by-nature-includes-a-power-but-not-a-will-to-power-the/)

[Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/)

> [You can rake the muck this way, rake the muck that way-- it will always be muck. Have I sinned or have I not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/you-can-rake-the-muck-this-way-rake-the-muck-that-way-it-will-always/)

[Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/)

> [All actual life is encounter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/all-actual-life-is-encounter/)

[Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/)

> [God cannot be seen, but He can listened to and spoken to!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/god-cannot-be-seen-but-he-can-listened-to-and-spoken-to/)

[Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/)

> [What has to be given up is not the I, as most mystics suppose: this I is indispensable for any relationship, including the highest,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/what-has-to-be-given-up-is-not-the-i-as-most-mystics-suppose-this-i/)

[Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/)

> [In the beginning was the relationship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/in-the-beginning-was-the-relationship/)

[Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/)

> [To begin with oneself but not to end with onself. To start from oneself but not to aim at oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/to-begin-with-oneself-but-not-to-end-with-onself-to-start-from/)

[Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/)

> [All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveller is unaware.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/all-journeys-have-secret-destinations-of-which-the-traveller-is/)

[Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/)

> [The concept of guilt is found most powerfully developed even in the most primitive communal forms which we know... the man is guilty who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/the-concept-of-guilt-is-found-most-powerfully-developed-even-in-the/)

[Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/)

> [This is the eternal origin of art that a human being confronts a form that wants to become a work through him. Not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/this-is-the-eternal-origin-of-art-that-a-human-being-confronts-a-form/)

[Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/)

> [God is the "mysterium tremendum," that appears and overthrows, but he is also the mystery of the self-evident, nearer to me than my I.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/god-is-the-mysterium-tremendum-that-appears-and-overthrows-but-he-is/)

[Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/)

> [No limits are set to the ascent of man, and to each and everyone the highest stands open. Here it is only your personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/no-limits-are-set-to-the-ascent-of-man-and-to-each-and-everyone-the/)

[Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/)

> [But when a man draws a lifeless thing into his passionate longing for dialogue, lending it independence and as it were a soul, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/but-when-a-man-draws-a-lifeless-thing-into-his-passionate-longing-for/)

[Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/)

[Explore all 169 Martin Buber quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/)

## More Empathy quotes

> [I have a lot of empathy, and I think that's where mothering starts. You are there to empathise and facilitate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viv-albertine/i-have-a-lot-of-empathy-and-i-think-that-s-where-mothering-starts-you/)

[Viv Albertine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viv-albertine/)

> [When you need empathy, you cannot give empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/when-you-need-empathy-you-cannot-give-empathy/)

[Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/)

> [Cinematography speaks to everything that women do inherently well: It's multitasking, it's empathy, and it's channeling visuals into human emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-morrison/cinematography-speaks-to-everything-that-women-do-inherently-well-it/)

[Rachel Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-morrison/)

> [“God has a way of picking a “nobody” and turning their world upside down, in order to create a “somebody” that will remove the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/god-has-a-way-of-picking-a-nobody-and-turning-their-world-upside-down/)

[Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/)

> [“Understanding breeds empathy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/understanding-breeds-empathy/)

[Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/)

> [ That is another theme in the book \[Dreams from My Father\]. How do we exercise more empathy in our public discourse? How do we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/that-is-another-theme-in-the-book-dreams-from-my-father-how-do-we/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [Making a movie is about following characters and embarking on an adventure with them, seeing their reactions, and seeing what they do, having empathy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franck-khalfoun/making-a-movie-is-about-following-characters-and-embarking-on-an/)

[Franck Khalfoun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franck-khalfoun/)

> [“A novel is not an allegory...it is a sensual experience of another world. If you don't enter that world, hold your breath with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/a-novel-is-not-an-allegory-it-is-a-sensual-experience-of-another/)

[Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/)

> [Empathic listening takes time, but it doesn't take anywhere near as much time as it takes to back up and correct misunderstandings when you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/empathic-listening-takes-time-but-it-doesn-t-take-anywhere-near-as/)

[Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/)

> [I try to treat every job with the exact same level of respect. When I go into it, it doesn't matter what the budget…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaya-scodelario/i-try-to-treat-every-job-with-the-exact-same-level-of-respect-when-i/)

[Kaya Scodelario](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaya-scodelario/)

> [“CWC (Church Women Concerned) enabled us as women in that part of South Africa, to see ourselves as ordinary citizens who found themselves in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sindiwe-magona/cwc-church-women-concerned-enabled-us-as-women-in-that-part-of-south/)

[Sindiwe Magona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sindiwe-magona/)

> [Ultimately, my character is defined by the quality of my sensitivity to other people. I exist in equilibrium. I am here to the degree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-prather/ultimately-my-character-is-defined-by-the-quality-of-my-sensitivity/)

[Hugh Prather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-prather/)

> [I began to use my sensitivity. And I realized I wasn't weird because I cried a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherilyn-fenn/i-began-to-use-my-sensitivity-and-i-realized-i-wasn-t-weird-because-i/)

[Sherilyn Fenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherilyn-fenn/)

> [“The emotional intelligence model consists of four clusters: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management.  ● Self-Awareness is a propensity for self-reflection and thoughtfulness.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-bolton/the-emotional-intelligence-model-consists-of-four-clusters-self/)

[Chuck Bolton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-bolton/)

> [I need voices of reason and of hysteria and of empathy. I need to have an Alanis moment. I need advice from Elizabeth Bennett.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/i-need-voices-of-reason-and-of-hysteria-and-of-empathy-i-need-to-have/)

[Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/)

[Browse all 2,480 Empathy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empathy/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "We can be redeemed only to the extent to which we see ourselves.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Martin Buber"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/we-can-be-redeemed-only-to-the-extent-to-which-we-see-ourselves/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Empathy"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/we-can-be-redeemed-only-to-the-extent-to-which-we-see-ourselves/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca4/martin-buber-2381_empathy_we-can-be-redeemed-only-to-the-extent-to_350709.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca4/martin-buber-2381_empathy_we-can-be-redeemed-only-to-the-extent-to_350709.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca4/martin-buber-2381_empathy_we-can-be-redeemed-only-to-the-extent-to_350709.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“We can be redeemed only to the extent to which we see ourselves.” — Martin Buber",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Martin Buber",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "We can be redeemed only to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/we-can-be-redeemed-only-to-the-extent-to-which-we-see-ourselves/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/we-can-be-redeemed-only-to-the-extent-to-which-we-see-ourselves/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
