My least favorite C. S. Lewis quote

[Naomi]

Damn, Darrell, you do pastor your own church. I'm going to tell all those trolls that your services are held on an as-needed basis in the forum-church-of-the-internets, and that yes, our pastor really is better than yours.

[redbeardiam]

(10-13-2011 01:04 PM)Naomi Wrote:  Damn, Darrell, you do pastor your own church. I'm going to tell all those trolls that your services are held on an as-needed basis in the forum-church-of-the-internets, and that yes, our pastor really is better than yours.

This. [is exactly what I thought when I read Darrell's post.]

[pastor's wife]

That was well-explained, Darrell. Thank you.

And Presbygirl, I'll have to look up that music!

[Darrell]

nah, I'm no pastor. But I do often get mistaken for one for a few weeks after each hair cut.

[Naomi]

(10-13-2011 04:21 PM)Darrell Wrote:  nah, I'm no pastor. But I do often get mistaken for one for a few weeks after each hair cut.

LOL. No, you're not a pastor, but you do verb it by providing spiritual guidance. This site isn't just all lulz.

[myotch]

I thought this thread was going to be about Purgatory, for some reason.

[beensetfree]

(10-13-2011 08:29 AM)Darrell Wrote:  I think the quote highlights the eternal tension between our spiritual and our physical selves.

As Christians we know that we are eternal beings created for something so much better than this current state in which we find ourselves. Lewis describes that better state with the word "joy."

But it would be silly to pretend that while we live here we're going not going to have pain and loss. I tend to doubt that Lewis was trying to downplay the role of real grief and pain here since wrote entire books about his own grief and pain. He knew as well as we do that we're going to be hungry and thirsty and lonely and rejected and downcast. But we also have this more sure word:

Quote:II Corinthians 4:7But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12So death is at work in us, but life in you.

In our darkest moments we can reflect that we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are. And we are assured that God knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. I don't always manage to remember that. Sometimes the pain just hurts too much. And that's when we need people "with skin on" to put their arms around us and say "I'm here for you now." Because in this world, the closest thing we can know to God's love is often the imperfect love of another person.

He doesn't expect us to always be happy. He wept. He doesn't expect us to pretend we aren't hungry. He hungered. He doesn't expect us to never be lonely. He was rejected too.

Lewis is not wrong in the spiritual sense when he says that "He who has God and everything else has no more than he who has God only" because all these things are temporal. But we are not yet divorced from our earthly needs and wants nor are our brothers and sisters who are destitute comforted with mere platitudes about God. Nor should we be. But the point is that if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience in the meantime. Even so come, Lord Jesus.

Now see, this is what comes out of your mind when pressed. Your critics would probably choke on this entry. I say Hallelujah to your exposition. Reading your "worst fear" the other day made me sad with its sincerity. Christians are certainly human. But here you sound nothing like a "mediocre" man but one of Christ's lambs who finds their riches in Him. This was really a blessing to read.

[MrsSarahN]

(10-13-2011 06:16 PM)Naomi Wrote:  

(10-13-2011 04:21 PM)Darrell Wrote:  nah, I'm no pastor. But I do often get mistaken for one for a few weeks after each hair cut.

LOL. No, you're not a pastor, but you do verb it by providing spiritual guidance. This site isn't just all lulz.

I agree with Naomi. If this site was just humor, I'd probably get tired of it eventually. But it's the insights like this, from Darrell, as well as Don and Pastor's Wife and others around here, that keep me coming back on a daily basis because they are truly a blessing and learning experience for me.

[Shoes]

pastors wife Wrote:I have earthly desires

I want things

we will pray for you and your wicked mindset.

[kaje]

That whole concept is still something I struggle with. It was such a pillar of thought in our old fundy church that "as long as you have God and your faith, bless God, you're gonna be ok." Like I've said before, this was great for the pastor, who lived in the largest home on his block, own several nice cars and "toys" and owned a ton of land, but there were and are people in his congregation who seriously don't know where their next meal is coming from or how they're going to pay rent.

Jesus met the physical needs of people by providing food and healing illnesses. He cared for their souls, but it's no secret that it's hard to concentrate on a deep discussion about your eternal soul if you're doubled over from hunger pains or freezing to death.