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If Divine Light, being also Perfect Freedom, consents to the wandering of the soul, but Divine Love, being also Reciprocity, may not consent to a perpetual wandering, how set limits in a life in which perfect freedom must continue? A limit can be fixed by Evil, Evil the outermost circle from God, the shore on which, continually breaking and being broken, the soul turns herself in longing to a long-forgotten Lord. Evil is the hedge about the vineyard of the Parable. The soul is free to touch it, free to pass through it if she will, but touching it she knows Pain. Pain causes the soul to pause and consider: now is her opportunity; now she is likely to turn about and seek the Good.
Then the purpose of Evil is fulfilled; then Evil becomes the handmaid of Good; then we can feel and say with sincerity, Evil has smitten me friendly, for it has caused me to turn about and seek Good. Good, once found, is found to be stronger than Evil. In a few years Good has so drawn us that Evil has become negligible; it lies forgotten on a now distant misty shore. The soul is Homeward bound.
XVIII
"If the wicked turn from his sins that he hath committed and keep my statutes . . . all his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him."—Ezekiel xviii. 21, 22.
XIX
Who is so blessed as the Redeemed Sinner? Who can taste the sweetness of God as can the repentant sinner? Who can know His graciousness, His infinity of tenderness and courtesy, as can the sinner? Who knows the heights and depths and lengths and breadths of God's forgiving love as does the sinner? Who can share with God hereafter such close experiences as will the sinner?
Can Angels share the memories of His human days with Christ? And who but the sorely tempted sinner can be bonded to Him by the mutual knowledge of those bitter, burning, desert days? Not the Righteous, nor even Angels can know quite the full beauty of all the bonds that bind the sinner to his Saviour. O marvellous love of God! O blessed soul, O blessed Adam, blessed even in thy sins!
He desired lovers and had none: Created Angels, and, desiring to prove them as lovers, He made Him a Lure.
A third of them turned to the Lure and fell to It. They serve the Lure and take their bread from It, and the offspring of the serving is Evil.
Desiring more lovers, He fashioned souls; yet, when He proved them, they also fell to the Lure.
Being lesser than Angels, they served not the Lure, but the offspring of it—Evil—and became subject to Evil. They were made for Love, and in Evil found no Love, and it was an anguish and it tormented them.
And He put them in flesh, that He might limit their suffering and show them His Light again; covered them about with Limits like a merciful Cloak; hedged them in with Evil as a boundary, so they should have no will to fall away further from Him than Evil because of the pain of it.
But in flesh they continued to serve Evil, and the offspring of the serving was Sin: and they were miserable in their service, because of the pain of it; yet no soul could break the bondage of service, because no soul could be found that, being subject, did not serve, and in serving lose freedom by its own offspring.
Then He sent His Spirit to walk with them in flesh, and being proven as a Lover, was not found wanting, and being subject to Evil did not serve, and remaining Sinless had no offspring to destroy His freedom, and He broke the bondage and showed them a light.
He sent, because He repented Him of the Proving and of the Evil that came of it, and His fallen lovers repented and repent of their fall.
His travail and their travail—the travail of severed Love towards Reunion—is the anguish of the Ages: but the anguish will have an end, because Love is Omnipotence.
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[Transcriber's notes: The name of the author, Lilian Staveley, is not mentioned on the title page of this text, but I have added it here. I have also made the following editorial changes:
"I am of no value value whatever" to "I am of no value whatever"
"called it it by the same name as I" to "called it by the same name as I"
"God shall see us to to be prepared" to "God shall see us to be prepared"
"the full beauty of all the the bonds" to "the full beauty of all the bonds"
"(though entirely without effort on her part) is immensely increased)" to "(though entirely without effort on her part) is immensely increased"]