s, 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.

------

[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"]

End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Prodigal Returns, by Lilian Staveley

*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUT