Gleanings from the works of George MacDonald

Gleanings from the Work of George MacDonald

          George MacDonald quickly became my favorite writer after I began reading the book, Sir Gibbie. His work opened to me a whole new world of literature filled with characters learning and relearning how to walk in obedience to Jesus Christ. His theology was simple and straightforward- to believe about God only that which one can read about Him in the bible and to follow after Jesus only in the way in which we read that He asked us to in the New Testament. George MacDonald was a husband, father, clergyman, and a writer. His work is unashamedly focused on being Christian and learning to live up to that great name.
          What I have done as I have read some of MacDonald's books is bookmark passages I found compelling and inspirational. They lose a little of their power when presented out of context as they are here but it is my hope that you will catch something of their import and then seek out the novel or work from which they come to read it in its full context.
          I should point out that George MacDonald was a prolific writer and most of his novels are very lengthy. There have been many printings of his work by many publishers and some of these have edited his work for readability. Some of these editings are very well done- the Sir Gibbie that I read was an edited work and I was unaware of it until much later. One exceptional editer (and writer in his own right) is Michael Phillips who has spent a considerable amount of time researching MacDonald's life and work and who has undertaken the task of reintroducing MacDonald to a new generation. He can be found online at MacDonald-Phillips. Full length versions of George MacDonald's work are in the public domain and can be found for free at Project Guttenberg.