There is a darkness that comes of effulgence; and the most veiling of all veils is the light. That for which the eye exists is light, but through light no human eye can pierce.
The Elect Lady, Chapter XXXII
It sounds like George MacDonald wanted glory for himself. But Jesus said:
I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. ~~ John 8:50
God gives us a glory when we don’t seek it for ourselves. We seek the glory of God. God isn’t selfish for seeking His glory for He is the greatest most glorious being in the universe. Moreover, in seeking His glory He breaks the bondage to the idol of self in His creatures. Therefore this is an act of love on God’s part. Not selfishness. He knows we won’t be complete until we give Him the glory. The glory the creature receives is in humility. In giving God the glory we receive a glory. We keep it by giving it away. My main motive for loving and being kind to others is to glorify God.
When we seek our own glory (self-esteem) we become aggressive bullying and egotistical. George MacDonald was verbally abusive to people (Calvinists) and he hated God because of His wrath. George MacDonald didn’t love his enemies. But Jesus did and he commanded us to. This is what happens when you seek your own glory. It leads to ego. For me it even lead to megalomania. This is from my book called “The Wisdom To Know the Difference” by the psychologist and professor of psychology at the University of Mississippi. It’s under the section called “The Self-Esteem Myth”
The book was published in 2012
C.S. Lewis was correct. Pride is the root of all other sins.
According to Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergo in "Humility of Heart:
The teacher of Pope John Paul II:
George MacDonald died in 1905, and so had died prior to the Communist revolution in Russia. However, communist thinking existed long before the revolution. Here are GMD’s thoughts:
Perhaps had he lived in our day, GMD might have said:
How you arrived at that conclusion from the GMD quote, is beyond me. If you ever have the privilege of reading his biography, you will know that he was quite the opposite in every aspect of his life. He was a servant of God and a servant of people. He loved even those who hated him for his Godly life, and when cruel words were directed against him, he never retaliated in like manner.
Well put, Paidion. Few men have lived as holy a life as George MacDonald. He is easily my favorite religious writer who wasn’t a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Self that annihilates itself leaves the dried ashes of self. Self that dissolves before the glory of God is death swallowed up in victory, Christ in you- the hope of glory.
“St Paul would be wretched before the throne of God, if he thought there was one man beyond the pale of his mercy, and that as much for God’s glory as for the man’s sake.”- a gem by george
Eaglesway,
The Bible flat out contradicts George MacDonald:
For Your name’s sake, O LORD, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great ~~ Psalms 25:11
It’s for God’s glory alone that we receive mercy. We receive a glory but it is in humility. We keep it by giving it away. It’s more blessed to give than receive. God gives the grace and He gets the glory. In this we are glorified. Just as Christ emptied Himself and became nothing before God we are to do likewise. This is being in union with Christ. We will be crowned with a different degree of glory in heaven. But we empty ourselves for the wind of the spirit to blow through. It comes from God and goes back to God. God alone is intrinsically glorious:
I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. ~~ Psalms 25:11
When we try to exalt ourselves to the throne it leads to ego. This is what happened to Satan. And George MacDonald was verbally abusive to Calvinists and hated God because of His wrath. Jesus gave us the example of loving our enemies. For He did not seek His own glory but gave it to God. Vengeance is Mine says God. If your enemy is hungry feed him.
Dumbfounded by the conclusion saint m has on GMD…
Me too.
Okay Paidion. I just ordered “The Gospel in George MacDonald: Selections from His Novels, Fairy Tales, and Spiritual Writings”. I’m looking into him. I see that he was Scottish. I’m Irish on my mother’s side. The “Browns” and the “Bryants”. Anyway, I see he also influenced G.K. Chesterton and J.R.R. Tolken. I read a sampling and it didn’t look all that bad. The book will be here tomorrow. Give me a little time and I’ll give you an update.
My favorite song from Celtic music:
Here’s union Paidion
“Love is one, and love is changeless.
For love loves unto purity. Love has ever in view the absolute loveliness of that which it beholds. Where loveliness is incomplete, and love cannot love its fill of loving, it spends itself to make more lovely, that it may love more; it strives for perfection, even that itself may be perfected–not in itself, but in the object. As it was love that first created humanity, so even human love, in proportion to its divinity, will go on creating the beautiful for its own outpouring. There is nothing eternal but that which loves and can be loved, and love is ever climbing towards the consummation when such shall be the universe, imperishable, divine.
Therefore all that is not beautiful in the beloved, all that comes between and is not of love’s kind, must be destroyed.
And our God is a consuming fire.”
― George MacDonald, Unspoken Sermons: Series I, II, III
“I do not say we are called upon to dispute and defend the truth with logic and argument, but we are called upon to show by our lives that we stand on the side of truth. But when i say truth, I do not mean opinion. To treat opinion as if that were truth is grievously to wrong the truth. The soul that loves the truth and tries to be true will know when to speak and when to be silent.”
― George MacDonald, Unspoken Sermons: Series I, II, III
“Jesus tells us we must leave the self altogether-yield it, deny it, refuse it, lose it. Thus only shall we save it… The self is given us that we may sacrifice it. It is ours in order that we, like Christ, may have something to offer- not that we should torment it, but that we should deny it; not that we should cross it, but that we should abandon it utterly.”
― George MacDonald, Unspoken Sermons: Series I, II, III
Amazing truth:
The true question is forgotten: “Have I left all to follow Him?” The important thing is whether we are letting God have His own way with us, following where He leads, learning the lessons He gives us. ~~ George MacDonald
But yet there is another way. Go and do God’s will and you will know. That is the remedy to the gloomy doubts and the terrible depression of this age. And remember what so many forget, the Christian duty of joy. You say: It is not in my power to rejoice now." Well, I deny it. You have the power, if only you will exert the will. And don’t let slip the youthful dreams. Such things will help you against that false self which comes with the Tempting voice to despair. And don’t let gloomy pictures of results keep coming before you. “Tomorrow” has no existence till it actually comes. Let it take care of itself. ~~ George MacDonald in The Gospel in George MacDonald: Selections from His novels, fairy Tales, and Spiritual Writings, page 94
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:
To be right with God is to be right with the universe; one with the power, the love, the will of the mighty Father, the cherisher of joy, the lord of laughter, whose are all glories, all hopes, who loves everything, and hates nothing but selfishness, which he will not have in His kingdom. page 57
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.
She was nearer God than she had ever been before. But she did not know this - might never in the world know it; she understood nothing of what was going on in her, only felt it go on; it was not love of God that was moving her. Yet she stood in her white dress like one risen from the grave, looking in sweet bliss on a new heaven and new earth, made new by the new opening of her eyes. 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!
She started, grew white, stood up, grew red as a sunset - was it? - could it be? - Is this love? she said to herself, and for minutes she hardly moved.
It was love.
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
The existence of the universe itself is sheerest grace, the result of God’s infinite capacity to fall in love. Salvation is returning the favor - Bishop Robert Barron
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Doubts are the messengers of the Living One to the honest. They are the first knock at our door of things that are not yet, but have to be, understood. . . . Doubts must precede every deeper assurance; for uncertainties are what we first see when we look into a region hitherto unknown, unexplored, unannexed.
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