keeping it in mind

Lewis talks about our tendency to avoid God today in A Year with C.S. Lewis.

He says that God gets our attention with the threat of a serious illness or the threat of war, and suddenly we are serious about our religion and our faith. But as soon as the threat is passed, we are like puppies after a bath, running to the nearest filth to get comfortable again.

And that brings us to an important part of our faith. Death is not an easy or fun subject. But it's unhealthy to avoid thinking about it. It is the inevitable end that each of us must face. And if we take our faith seriously, we will keep the fact of our passing away in mind as we go about our daily business. This will help us in several ways.

For one, it gives us perspective. Problems don't seem so huge when you realize that you'll be passing away and meeting God one day. We see that our lives are swiftly passing, and that we need to do what counts. Love people. Love God. Help others. Do some good while we have time to do it.

And, very importantly, we need to prepare for the inevitable end. We need to get our hearts right with God. We need to spend time with Him and grow in our trust, so that the fact of our eventual death isn't so scary. We need to learn to trust.

God, thank You for giving us a sobering fact to face, so that we might make our lives count.