Posted On: May 19th, 2008 at 9:42 am
So, last summer my college asked me to read Perelandra, by C.S. Lewis before coming to campus. Most of the content of this post is the result of that book stewing in the back of my subconscious for the past year.
What if the temporary, short-lived nature of things is the main/only reason we enjoy them? After all, why should I take the time to enjoy my college years if I'm going to be in college forever? Our human nature finds it so much easier to gripe and complain about things, and if we have something forever, why not put off the hard work of enjoying it until later? But if we know that things are temporary, we have the incentive to take the time and effort to enjoy them. The only reason we like cake is because we only get one piece at a time. If we got an infinite amount, we would simply make ourselves sick (repeatedly) and eventually start hating it with a passion, no matter how good it actually is (or was).
The Bible repeatedly tells us that the kingdom of heaven turns things upside down. So maybe one of the main reasons that heaven is heaven is because we will have it forever. I'm not sure that I or any other fallen human can comprehend such a thing, but maybe that's how it is. Maybe heaven would become hellish if, while there, we knew that at some point in the future we would be torn from the presence of God. Instead, perhaps the forever part of heaven plays a bigger role than we would, at first glance, think it does.
Sorry for the disjointed nature of this post. This stuff has been floating around in my head for awhile, and I haven't polished it at all.
-AD
Comments:
Re: Perelandra
Posted On: June 15th, 2008 at 10:24 am by Aaron Nemoyer
Polished or not, Kennedy, it is an excellent post and observations. I loved C.S. Lewis' Perelandra. Did you read the other two of the trilogy as well?
Re: Perelandra
Posted On: June 16th, 2008 at 3:23 am by AgentDelta
Polished or not, Kennedy, it is an excellent post and observations. I loved C.S. Lewis' Perelandra. Did you read the other two of the trilogy as well?
Thanks. Sadly, I have not read the other two books in the trilogy. Someday, I plan to. I just don't know when. :P