George MacDonald
Writings by Daniel Koehn:
Essay: George MacDonald: Scottish Poet, Preacher and Novelist
Essay: MacDonald's Theology of Obedience
"Troubled
soul, thou art 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
towards thee for that thou art in the dark and hast no light, and his
heart is glad when thou dost arise and say, "I will go to my Father."
For he sees thee through all the gloom through which thou canst not see
him. Will thou his will. Say to him: "My God, I am very dull and low and
hard; but thou art wise and high and tender, and thou art my God. I am
thy child. Forsake me not." Then fold the arms of thy faith, and wait in
quietness until light goes up in thy darkness. Fold the arms of thy
Faith I say, but not of thy Action: bethink thee of something that thou
oughtest to do, and go and do it, if it be but the sweeping of a room,
or the preparing of a meal, or a visit to a friend. Heed not thy
feelings: Do thy work.
As God lives by his own will, and we live in him, so has he given to us power to will in ourselves. How much better should we not fare if, finding that we are standing with our heads bowed away from the good, finding that we have no feeble inclination to seek the source of our life, we should yet will upwards toward God, rousing that essence of life in us, which he has given us from his own heart, to call again upon him who is our Life, who can fill the emptiest heart, rouse the deadest conscience, quicken the dullest feeling, and strengthen the feeblest will!"
George MacDonald
Unspoken Sermons
"The Eloi"
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