February 17
Looking for God – or Heaven – by exploring space is like reading or seeing all Shakespeare's plays in hope that you will find Shakespeare as one of the characters or Stratford as one of the places. Shakespeare is in one sense present at every moment in every play. But he is never present in the same way as Falstaff or Lady Macbeth. Nor is he diffused through the play like a gas." ~Christian Reflections, "The Seeing Eye" p168, CS Lewis
February 16
"I think all Christians would agree with me if I said that though Christianity seems at the first to be all about morality, all about duties and rules and guilt and virtue, yet it leads you on, out of all that, into something beyond. One has a glimpse of a country where they do not talk of those things, except perhaps as a joke. Every one there is filled full with what we should call goodness as a mirror filled with light. But they do not call it goodness. They do not call it anything. They are not thinking of it. They are too busy looking at the source from which it comes." MC, p123 – CS Lewis
How much time do you spend analyzing our own situation? Every human has this thing called conscience - a little voice, a nagging feeling, a gentle tug guiding your action, your speech, your daily interactions. – You may listen to it, you may ignore it. You may understand it, be 'in tune' with it, or you may scoff at it. Nevertheless, at some level it is there. When first encountering Christianity – you hear about Christ, but inevitably reading through the scripture containing words from God, the one who created the conscience – you encounter a way of life. You shall not kill, you shall not steal, love the Lord your God, no idols, love your neighbor as yourself, be merciful, show humility, honor your parents. A short list of just some things you find all throughout the Bible. It is tempting to begin working on these principles, setting up goals, creating progress plans, and scheduling periodical assessments. Read the quote by Lewis again. Knowledge is there, but the light points to something brighter - a mirror filled with light. Do not waste time trying to create energy from nothing, recognize the power is already there. Focus on connecting, identifying with the source and become a conduit of the light.
"Do not waste time bothering whether you 'love' your neighbor; act as if you did." CS Lewis
