Lewis speaks here on the importance of learning, even when in the midst of something as great as a war. I wish to point out in this blog a couple of quotes/parts that I really liked of this sermon. The first was “the nearer you got to the front line, the less everyone spoke and thought of the allied cause and the progress of the campaign.” I was intrigued by this idea, because I personally would have thought it would be the other way around. Rather than thinking of the cause less, I would have assumed that those at the form really kept the progress or the campaign at a greater capacity. Lewis corrects my thinking here, and shows that even those who are the closest and the most affected by the war still are not living only and solely for it. They go about normal, daily activities as well. I also appreciated the picture Lewis presents when he mentions the parallel between the omnipresence of God and of religion in our lives. I think this is a genius way to present what our relationship with our beliefs should be.
When I read this sermon, I immediately thought about the Thessalonians. Paul admonishes them in the second letter because they are in a sense forsaking their life on earth. Some of them had quit their jobs because they were convinced the Lord’s return was imminent. With the prospect of something that was higher in importance, they had forgotten that they lived in the here and now. Those Thessalonians had forgotten about the calling and life that God had seen fit to give them here on earth, and had wasted that time in the name of religion. We must be careful that we do not follow in their footsteps, and ignoring the time and life we have been given here.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I too was corrected by Lewis in this sermon when he talks of soldiers at the front lines. I always thought that they were the ones that were really into the cause and thought nothing of war, but Lewis says that that is not the case. It gives me a little different perspective of the soldiers fighting for our country now.
ReplyDeleteI also liked your connection to Thessalonians. That is a great example of a group of people that forgot that even though something way more important may be happening, they needed to live their own lives and not get completely caught up in it.
I too liked your connection to Thessalonians. It was a good reminder that we need to focus on what really matters and not all the meaningless stuff that distracts us.
ReplyDeleteI was also corrected by Lewis' thinking and I was also surprised about the quote too. I too thought it the other way around. I know if I were close to the frontlines I would be scared to death to be where I was. Those people just accepted that the war was something they had to deal with and dealt with it by living pretty normal lives.
ReplyDelete