A Grief Observed- [quotes]
Since I finished And God Came In, the next book was obviously A Grief Observed. It's a short book of Lewis's journey through grief after Joy's death. Here is a quote from it. It's...very raw.
"Meanwhile, where is God? This is one of the most disquieting symptoms. When you are happy, so happy that you have no sense of needing Him, so happy that you are tempted to feel His claims upon you as an interruption, if you remember yourself and turn to Him with gratitude and praise, you will be-or so it feels-welcomed with open arms. But go to Him when our need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence. You may as well turn away. The longer you wait, the more emphatic the silence will become. There are no lights in the windows. It might be an empty house. Was it ever inhabited? It seemed so once. And that seeming was as strong as this. What can this mean? Why is He so present a commander in our time of prosperity and so very absent a help in time of trouble?
I tried to put some of these thoughts to C. this afternoon. He reminded me that the same thing seems to have happened to Christ: "Why hast Thou forsaken me?" I know. Does that make it easier to understand?"
Having finished A Grief Observed fairly quickly, I wanted to start The Great Divorce, but couldn't find it; instead I've just barely begun The Problem of Pain. Already I've collected some quotes from it; Lewis is just so quotable and amazing. The first quote is taken from the beginning of the book.
"The Son of God suffered unto death not that men might not suffer, but that their sufferings might be like His." George MacDonald
"If the universe is so bad as all that, how on earth did human beings eve come to attribute it to the activity of a wise and good Creator? Men are fools, perhaps; but hardly as foolish as that. The direct inference from black to white, from evil flower to virtuous root, from senseless work to a workman infinitely wise, staggers belief."
"All men alike stand condemned, not by alien codes of ethics, but by their own, and all men therefore are conscious of guilt."
I'm only one chapter in to this book so far. But it appears to be a promising read. I'm also still chugging my way through A Beautiful Mind though it's been over a year since I started it. It's difficult for me to enjoy. But I'm almost done with it, and I'm determined to finish it. :)
I myself am surprised that I have the time for all this extra reading. But glad to have it. I shall take advantage of it while I can!
"Meanwhile, where is God? This is one of the most disquieting symptoms. When you are happy, so happy that you have no sense of needing Him, so happy that you are tempted to feel His claims upon you as an interruption, if you remember yourself and turn to Him with gratitude and praise, you will be-or so it feels-welcomed with open arms. But go to Him when our need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence. You may as well turn away. The longer you wait, the more emphatic the silence will become. There are no lights in the windows. It might be an empty house. Was it ever inhabited? It seemed so once. And that seeming was as strong as this. What can this mean? Why is He so present a commander in our time of prosperity and so very absent a help in time of trouble?
I tried to put some of these thoughts to C. this afternoon. He reminded me that the same thing seems to have happened to Christ: "Why hast Thou forsaken me?" I know. Does that make it easier to understand?"
Having finished A Grief Observed fairly quickly, I wanted to start The Great Divorce, but couldn't find it; instead I've just barely begun The Problem of Pain. Already I've collected some quotes from it; Lewis is just so quotable and amazing. The first quote is taken from the beginning of the book.
"The Son of God suffered unto death not that men might not suffer, but that their sufferings might be like His." George MacDonald
"If the universe is so bad as all that, how on earth did human beings eve come to attribute it to the activity of a wise and good Creator? Men are fools, perhaps; but hardly as foolish as that. The direct inference from black to white, from evil flower to virtuous root, from senseless work to a workman infinitely wise, staggers belief."
"All men alike stand condemned, not by alien codes of ethics, but by their own, and all men therefore are conscious of guilt."
I'm only one chapter in to this book so far. But it appears to be a promising read. I'm also still chugging my way through A Beautiful Mind though it's been over a year since I started it. It's difficult for me to enjoy. But I'm almost done with it, and I'm determined to finish it. :)
I myself am surprised that I have the time for all this extra reading. But glad to have it. I shall take advantage of it while I can!
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