Tuesday, January 20, 2009

LEARNING IN WARTIME

The question that Lewis addresses in this speech is one that I wrestle with quite often.  Being a college student, I wonder what my education is doing to further the salvation of souls; what it is doing to glorify God.  There are also question as to how I can sit back and learn for my own sake rather than face the corruption that is so prevalent in society.  Lewis makes an excellent point.  Being well-rounded is not only a quality that is respected by the general population, but it is also something that is necessary when attempting to be specialized in any one thing.  In order to know a lot about any one thing you need to know something about everything. This is where I saw a connection to "Our English Syllabus." In order to build up our faith we need to build up our knowledge in other areas, even under difficult circumstances. It is also important for a Christian to have a certain credibility according to the people witnessed to.  Earthly achievements are not important in heaven, but they can be useful in attempts to bring non-Christians to Christ.  

Learning may seem like a trivial act, especially during rough times.  However, Lewis concludes that it important to do at all times.  He says, "life has never been normal."  There are no ideal conditions for learning... people have been forced to learn at all times, even under the worst possible conditions.  There is so much you can learn about your faith by learning other things as long as you allow yourself to learn even in difficult situations. 

"War makes death real to us: and that would have been regarded as one of its blessings by most of the great Christians of the past.  They thought it good for us to be always aware of our mortality.  I am inclined to think they are right." I agree with Lewis here.  War sets in a sense of reality and urgency. People will not live forever and there is only so much time to witness in this lifetime.  Learning should not be discounted, but done in the process of it all because it is important to continue to build our own knowledge and faith while encouraging others to do the same.

1 comment:

  1. Dear Clare,

    Very good points!

    We need to continue to do our best in the position God stations us, even though we hear and see fire on the other side of town, so to speak.
    He trusts that our 'section of the wall' is covered at all times. Faithfulness seems to me the most relevant issue here.
    God Bless!
    Adriana & Paulo

    ReplyDelete