George MacDonald. An Antology (edited by C.S.Lewis) -
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else a better condition than God's is conceivable to the mind of God. . . .
The truth is this: He wants to make us in His own image, choosing the
good,
refusing the evil. How should He effect this if He were always
moving us
from within, as He does at divine intervals, toward the beauty of holiness?
. . . For God made our individuality as well as, and a greater marvel than,
our dependence; made our apartness from Himself, that freedom should
bind us
divinely dearer to Himself, with a new and inscrutable marvel of love; for
the Godhead is still at the root, is the making root of our individuality,
and the freer the man, the stronger the bond that binds him to Him who made
his freedom.
[ 38 ] The Highest Condition of the Human Will
The highest condition of the human will is in sight.... I say not the
highest condition of the Human Being; that surely lies in the Beatific
Vision, in the sight of God. But the highest condition of the Human Will, as
distinct, not as separated from God, is when, not seeing God, not seeming to
itself to grasp Him at all, it yet holds Him fast.
[ 39 ] Troubled Soul
Troubled soul, thou are not bound to feel but thou art bound to arise.
God loves thee whether thou feelest or not. Thou canst not love when thou
wilt, but thou art bound to fight the hatred in thee to the last. Try not to
feel good when thou art not good, but cry to Him who is good. He changes not
because thou changest. Nay, He has an especial tenderness of love toward
thee for that thou art in the dark and hast no light, and His heart is glad
when thou doest arise and say, "I will go to my Father." . . . Fold the arms
of thy faith, and wait in the quietness until light goes up in thy darkness.