Tuesday, January 13, 2009

The Weight of Glory

I loved reading this sermon that C.S. Lewis gave at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Oxford. I don't even know where I should begin. There was just so many quotes that I liked! Here are my favorite: 

"Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

This quote really resonated with me. This is not the first time I have seen the quote, but I always seem to get something new out of each time I re-read it. I love it so much because it is just so true that we are far too easily pleased. I feel like another good analogy is that we are walking around with bad eyesight, and we are in need of glasses. But do we get glasses? No, because all we have ever known is blurry objects, we don't know the wonders of the world because we have never experienced them. We all need to get out of the mud and open our eyes to the Lord and see the infinite joy he trying to offer us. 


"And you and I have need of the strongest spell that can be found to wake us from the evil enchantment of worldliness..." 

The words strongest spell really stood out. This is because I know that in order to get out of the rut of living in a worldly mindset and into in an eternal mindset is not easy. I would need a very strong spell. And acknowledging that I need that "spell" is the first step to christianity. 


"Indeed, how we think of Him is of no importance except in so far as it is related to how He thinks of us."

I love this one also. So many people try to define what and who God is. I personally have gotten wrapped up in conversations of what or who God is. But that is not what is most important. What is important is how God thinks of us. More importantly is He pleased with us? Because once I die on earth it won't matter who I thought God was. He will not change based on my thoughts, but my eternity will be based on what he thinks of me.


C.S. Lewis put's it so well that we will one day be judged, and that judgement is either going to be very harsh or very wonderful. And it order to achieve the wonderful judgement we have to bring glory to God. Lewis goes into great detail about what this means. What it comes down to is "being 'noticed' by God".  And to be noticed by Him, one needs to love Him; take delight in Him, worship Him, notice Him.


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