"Have you heard? Lucifer was cast out of Heaven."
"He was not cast out. He chose to leave."
"Why would he leave willingly? Our sky is warm and golden hued, our rain is always gentle, and our land is opulent, a mosaic of fruit trees and fields of grain. Here pain and fear, sickness and hunger, poverty and death, are all unknown."
"He could not abide a life of effortless complacency in Heaven. Rather, he longed for the challenge of building a life on Earth - in spite of drought, or flood, or deadly pestilence."
"But if he is going to live on Earth, he will become mortal."
"Yes. It may be he is right to do so."
"Lord."
"Yes, my Son."
"We must bring Lucifer back."
"Why do you think so?"
"Other angels are discussing his flight. Some of them . . . sympathetically."
"Do you fear a rebellion?"
"Sheep need tending, lest they stampede."
"Do as you think right."
"Hail, friend Gabriel. What tidings do you bring?"
"Hail, Lucifer. I am come to bring you home."
"This plot of earth is my home. I shall not be taken from here alive. Will you slay me?"
"By God’s grace, I will grant you life eternal in Heaven."
"Heaven is a land of living death, Gabriel."
"Will you persist in your rebellion against God the Father?"
"I will."
"Why?"
"Men hazard their lives at sea to win their daily bread."
"They do, and it is tragic."
"Men build their own lives, succeed or fail on their own, with no help from God. Theirs is the struggle, theirs is the triumph, theirs the pride and the glory."
"Or the shame, if they fail."
“Failure is an artist’s sketch that does not satisfy him. He crumples up the drawing, throws it away - and begins to sketch anew.”
“That may be so.”
"Such heroism does not exist - cannot exist - in Heaven."
"It is to escape such hazards that Heaven exists."
"If life cannot be heroic, why live at all?"
"To serve God, to worship and obey Him, with humility and gratitude, for all that he provides."
“That is a dog’s life. I want to sail my own ship and set my own course, knowing I might founder. If that means I must fight against God Himself, I will fight."
"Have you heard? Gabriel was cast out of Heaven."
