One point C.S. Lewis brings up that really struck me was about how ever human being is immortal. This is not something that you think about every day because the ever present realization of eventual death. However, every person will either spend eternity in heaven or in hell. This quote from C.S. Lewis helps to sum it up," But is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit-immortal horrors or everlasting splendors." It is a hard concept to put your mind around but everyone will go on into eternity either with me in the presence of the God Almighty or in a place of unimaginable horror. All of our actions, good or bad, effect our eternal soul and will never leave us, and this fact is something that should always be in the back of our minds. Lewis says that because of this realization, that does not mean we should be in a constant state of solemness. We however must take everyone seriously without judgment or presumptions of anyone.
Another section from this sermon can link into the writing on immortality, and that would be the thoughts Lewis has on heaven. Lewis says that," heaven by definition, is outside our experience. We cannot experience heaven or no what it is like because it is to comprehensive for us to understand and obviously none of us have ever been there. From what we do know, heaven is by far better than anything that we could possibly experience on earth. God does not however want us to simply wait for heaven to come or for the second coming, but to try and bring a little of heaven here to earth. An appropriate term to describe this would be agents of renewal, which is a term that everyone at Calvin is very familiar with. Plantinga also mentions being stewards of creation and having respect for everything that God has created. With God's guidance we can do all of this, and bits and pieces of his eternal kingdom can be found on earth.
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I've never thought of human's being immortal, the way Lewis describes it. It's a little bit daunting to think about walking by people on the path as if all of them are immortals. It makes every single word we say important, and every single bad word we say even more important. It makes us a part of the reason for their redemption or failure. Scary thought.
ReplyDeleteI also like how he says humans are immortal. It just not something we really think about. Because of God we aren't condemned to burn in hell anylonger and are given immortality if we reach out.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up some good points Nate. Your point about not being in a constant state of solemness is very true. The great thing about grace and mercy is that even sinners like us can be reedemed. your points about heaven and our inability to realize it are also very good.
ReplyDeleteJust like the previous comments, I find it interesting that Lewis says that we are all immortal. It really forces us to think about how was interact and talk with others. This also ties in with all of us being created in the image of God. I think the fact that both of these are true is scary and it should force us to think twice before we insult or build up somebody.
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