It’s getting to the point where I hesitate to turn on the TV. From the financial crisis, to hurricanes, to Iran, to fuel prices, you name it. And it’s not just the news, it’s the media’s — and the public’s — voyeuristic preoccupation with chaos that troubles me. The news is grim.
But don’t just hide in bed and pull the blanket over you. We need to understand what’s happening in the world, not as mere spectators, but in order to engage the world in a winsome way, ourselves to be light in the darkness.
I can’t help but be reminded of a lesson taught by a certain Oxford don named C.S. Lewis. Yes, these are frightening times today. But 60 years ago the entire world was at war. It was then that he preached his famous sermon THE WEIGHT OF GLORY. This is what he had to say: “Human culture has always had to exist under the shadow of something infinitely more important than itself. If men had postponed the search for knowledge and beauty until they were secure, the search would never have begun.”
Lewis’ words could not be more appropriate for us today. It’s precisely during times of crisis that we must persevere all the more in our quest for beauty and truth.
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Edited from a longer article by Rev. David Holwick. Copyright (c) 2008 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. “BreakPoint with Chuck Colson” is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.
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[Original illustration at this number was moved to HolwickID #28441]