The Evangelical Universalist Forum

GEORGE'S GEMS

I like George MacDonald’s remedy here for deflating the ego or as he says getting out of the “false self”. “Tomorrow hasn’t arrived” he says. Indeed God hold’s the future in His hands and He’s a God of love. I have all the reason to have hope and not let the “youthful dreams slip”. This shouldn’t make one inactive though. MacDonald speaks here of doing God’s will and being of service. Getting out of yourself by doing the will of God helps when things are gloomy. And keeping away from sin and you won’t be shameful or depressed. Even exercise helps. I walk around an outdoor track where there is beautiful scenery of ponds, fountains, ducks. I try to go at sunset or sunrise so that the beauty helps cleanse my mind and thought. Stilling my thoughts while walking is like a meditation but an active meditation. Doing God’s will doesn’t have to be volunteering to help the homeless but it can. Simply working around the house doing yard work of helping someone at A.A. Hard work helps relieve depression as you get out of yourself. And don’t let the false self take control. As George MacDonald says in the same book quoted above on union:

This is taken from the Novel by MacDonald “What’s Mine is Mine”. It’s about a woman named Christiana as she is falling in love with another man.

To save man or woman, the next thing to the love of God is the love of man or woman; only let no man or woman mistake the love of love for love!

Here MacDonald is describing love of God as being in love with love. God is love. And the closest thing to love of love is the love between a man and woman. We are not to mistake the love of love with the love between man and woman. It’s the same thing Rumi is talking about:

I Am In Love With Love

I am in love with love
love is in love with me
my body fell in love
with my soul
and my soul fell in love
with me
we take turns in loving
we take turns in being loved

Rumi

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That is a wonderful and wise quote.

Also: Beuchner:

If theres no room for doubt, theres no room for me.

  • originally published in The Alphabet of Grace

—Donal Grant

And there is no creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

Donal Grant to Lady Arctura (who was raised up in the Church of Scotland to think that correct belief is everything, and especially the belief that Christ died for the elect to save them from God’s condemnation to hell of the non-elect):

Oh that is a JEWEL of a gem!

[size=130]From GMD’s novel “Donal Grant”:

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[size=130]From GMD’s novel “Donal Grant”:

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From Adela Cathcart, Volume 2

Beautiful & True :slight_smile:

I hope George was right. I’d like him to be right.

Freedom is the ability to choose. As Jonathan Edwards stated we choose at the moment what we most want. If I choose something because it ought to be done it’s because I want to do the right thing even though I have a strong desire to go contrary. We do not choose Christ out of compulsion or necessity. We come to Christ because we want to. This is freedom. We love Christ from the heart. God doesn’t force us against our will. He performs a miracle planting the desire for Christ within the heart. As a result we want Christ. The bride falls in love with the bridegroom. When we reach perfection all desire for sin is removed. We will be like God in that it will be impossible for us to sin. We freely choose what we want more than anything - God. This is free will. Those outside the city have their hearts separated from God’s mercy. Therefore, they don’t want Christ. They hate God with hardened hearts. That is to say, they have no desire for God. God is never obligated to give the gift of grace to a sinner who hates Him and doesn’t want to have anything to do with Him. God doesn’t take away their freedom He gives them more freedom. Freedom to do what they most want. All they will ever want to do is hate God and His children as they live in evil.

Don - the free will quote above came at a particularly good time for me. That is truly a GMac Gem!!