In CS Lewis’ Narnia’s conclusion, a group of dwarves (don’t remember which group, possibly black dwarves, but don’t quote me—too lazy to get up and look it up) they are literally sitting in Paradise, facing each other in a circle and refusing to acknowledge where they are, instead continuously reciting their grievances, and totally unaware of the Glory around them. One of the characters tries to show them, but is called away, with the implication being that they have willed their Hell, and nothing at that point can dissuade them at this point.
So it is with us in life. We must only accept God’s unconditional love (the only condition on unconditional love?). His love will not be forced upon us, and that is the point of free will. We have the choice to accept or refuse. Our “YES” is not a word or thought alone, but is borne out through actions. We know that just saying “Lord Lord” will not avail us. Hoo boy, I got some work to do. This must be done on faith (or Faith), as once we’ve died, the Truth will be clear before us. Love alone endures, as Bishop Barron has said in an interview, as once we die, we will have no need for faith, as we will see, and no further need for hope, for the culmination and truth is all around us.
We enjoyed a lovely trip last year to Italy. The jets that flew us there, as long as the doors didn’t fall off and they didn’t fall from the skies, did their job and got us to our destination, but were otherwise irrelevant. So it is with church. Our destination is what matters, and whether we flew RCC airways or PanPresbyterian is unlikely to be important, as long as it delivers us to the correct destination. The hard part is keeping the doors from falling off. I happen to believe RCC airlines has the most flights and best accomodations, but your mileage may vary. Choose wisely, and if that carrier does not seem to be going in the right direction, book another. The destination is the thing.
I’ve been in business settings where people are enraged and wish everything would go to hell.
But funny enough, when you empathize and wait for their anger to pass, they’re often willing to work with you at the end of it, even if it contradicts what they were just saying.
We were scheduled to cruise to the Holy Land three days before Oct 7: last year. Not hard to guess, the cruise diverted to a bunch of other lesser destinations. Lovely islands and scenery but NOT the destination we desired. The point is there are many so - so destinations to aim for spiritually .But what is the highest and holiest where we dwell with the Father and Son forever? We had to settle for second best in earthly travels. But my view is that our Father wants us to aim for the highest degree of glory possible . He will never cancel our trip because of the mess we create down here. He sent His Son to clean us up and give strength for the rigorous climb. Through our faithfulness.
In CS Lewis’ Narnia’s conclusion, a group of dwarves (don’t remember which group, possibly black dwarves, but don’t quote me—too lazy to get up and look it up) they are literally sitting in Paradise, facing each other in a circle and refusing to acknowledge where they are, instead continuously reciting their grievances, and totally unaware of the Glory around them. One of the characters tries to show them, but is called away, with the implication being that they have willed their Hell, and nothing at that point can dissuade them at this point.
So it is with us in life. We must only accept God’s unconditional love (the only condition on unconditional love?). His love will not be forced upon us, and that is the point of free will. We have the choice to accept or refuse. Our “YES” is not a word or thought alone, but is borne out through actions. We know that just saying “Lord Lord” will not avail us. Hoo boy, I got some work to do. This must be done on faith (or Faith), as once we’ve died, the Truth will be clear before us. Love alone endures, as Bishop Barron has said in an interview, as once we die, we will have no need for faith, as we will see, and no further need for hope, for the culmination and truth is all around us.
We enjoyed a lovely trip last year to Italy. The jets that flew us there, as long as the doors didn’t fall off and they didn’t fall from the skies, did their job and got us to our destination, but were otherwise irrelevant. So it is with church. Our destination is what matters, and whether we flew RCC airways or PanPresbyterian is unlikely to be important, as long as it delivers us to the correct destination. The hard part is keeping the doors from falling off. I happen to believe RCC airlines has the most flights and best accomodations, but your mileage may vary. Choose wisely, and if that carrier does not seem to be going in the right direction, book another. The destination is the thing.
That dwarf allegory is great
I’ve been in business settings where people are enraged and wish everything would go to hell.
But funny enough, when you empathize and wait for their anger to pass, they’re often willing to work with you at the end of it, even if it contradicts what they were just saying.
💥🔥—and I mean that as a compliment. 🙏🏻😊
We were scheduled to cruise to the Holy Land three days before Oct 7: last year. Not hard to guess, the cruise diverted to a bunch of other lesser destinations. Lovely islands and scenery but NOT the destination we desired. The point is there are many so - so destinations to aim for spiritually .But what is the highest and holiest where we dwell with the Father and Son forever? We had to settle for second best in earthly travels. But my view is that our Father wants us to aim for the highest degree of glory possible . He will never cancel our trip because of the mess we create down here. He sent His Son to clean us up and give strength for the rigorous climb. Through our faithfulness.
Beautiful
Love, love, love this!! Thank you!