In the beginning of the sermon Lewis talks about desires and rewards. As I read this passage about mercenaries and people who are after proper rewards, I realized that although Christians are not initially mercenaries for desire heaven as a reward from our relationship with God, we are constantly in the danger of becoming mercenaries. We tend to think at times that we deserve something from God. We expect God’s blessings to come in a form that we want it to be; may it prosperity, material goods, success, and the list goes on. Lewis says “the proper rewards are not simply tacked on to the activity for which they are given, but are the activity itself in consummation.” When we look for material success from God and think that we deserve it we become mercenaries. It is amazing how often we fall into this trap of becoming mercenaries in our relationship with God, and this is mainly because we cannot experience our reward of being in heaven in this life.
Lewis makes a challenging point that we often fall in the trap of settling for the things in this world as what we truly desire. He says,
“These things – the beauty, the memory of our own past – are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself they turn into dumb idols”
There are countless times when I get so obsessed by things I consider “beautiful” (may it be music, technology, or even time spending with friends) that I get distracted from God. We must always keep in mind that the beautiful things in this life are only pointing to the greater beauty that is beyond this life, and we shouldn’t get caught up in this world.
“Nature is only the image, the symbol; but it is the symbol Scripture invites me to use. We are summoned to pass in through Nature, beyond her, into that splendor which she fitfully reflects.”
There are many insightful things that I got out of this sermon, but what hit me the most was Lewis’ insight in the last paragraph. He says,
“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. … it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit.”
I don’t this world will ever be the same if we as Christians live out our lives and treat others with that perspective in mind.
I really like that last quote. Sometimes it's easy to play down the significance of a person. But when it really comes down to it, they have a soul that will live for eternity. That is a long time.. and I wonder how that should affect our actions towards them.
답글삭제I really liked the quote about seeing beauty in things but having to be cautious about turning them into 'dumb idols'. In Plantinga's "Creation" chapter, he talks about how God is not part of the creation, and how creation is not like God. We can enjoy the beauty that God created, but we have to remember that God and the beautiful things that are here for us to enjoy are separate. We tend to get caught up in earthly things, but we have to remember who is the ultimate Creator and Provider of those things.
답글삭제I liked your explanation of the concept of a mercenary. That rewards are not simply tact on. All to often people place themselves in a position because the want the power and the prestige that goes along with it also because they want to be recognized themselves as apposed to the one that gave them the gifts in the first place.
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