Thursday, September 15, 2011

Well Said: Why Are We Not At Home Here?

From my quote journal.
C. S. Lewis, in his second letter to me at Oxford, asked how it was that , as a product of a materialistic universe, was not at home there. "Do fish complain of the sea for being wet? Or if they did, would that fact itself not strongly suggest that they had not always been, or would not always be, purely aquatic creatures?" Then, if we complain of time and take such joy in the seemingly timeless moment, what does that suggest?

It suggests that we have not always been or will not always be purely temporal creatures. It suggests that we were created for eternity. Not only are we harried by time, but we seem unable, despite a thousand generations, even to get used to it. We are always amazed at it — how fast it goes, how slowly it goes, how much of it is gone. Where, we cry, has the time gone? We aren't adapted to it, not at home in it. If that is so, it may appear as a proof, or at least a powerful suggestion, that eternity exists and is our home.
Sheldon Vanauken, A Severe Mercy

1 brave one(s) among us:

Nicole @ Sew Much Sunshine said...

Wow, I had never heard this quote before. Truly astonishing. It has officially made it's way into my quote journal too. Thanks!

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