A life observed

Today I find myself in Belfast preparing for the annual visit that is made by the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland to the Irish Presbyterian General Assembly. We left Edinburgh on an early flight and arrived in Belfast for 9.30. Martha and I are accompanied by Iain Cunningham one of my Chaplains and also an elder from Bo'ness and his wife. It's been a very special day. The sun has been shining and we had the opportunity to drop by a cousin who lives in Belfast. Sandy is an expert on the life and times of CS Lewis and we had an amazing two hours with him as he gave us a guided tour round the parts of Belfast that shaped Jack Lewis' early life. The whole story of Lewis and how he returned to faith to become one of the 20th centuries greatest Christian apologists is moving and quite inspirational. Sandy Smith is of course so knowledgeable about his subject that you feel he must have known CS Lewis. I think it was the passionate way he described how Lewis first encountered his spiritual longing that makes him standout as not just another Lewisite but as someone who has come to know the God whom Lewis invites his readers to encounter. I found myself reflecting on the idea of innate spiritual longing that Lewis sees in the human heart. The longing for something we once had or knew about but have lost. It's a homesick feeling that we're glad we have be wish we could be rid of by being home again. Such is the longing of the human soul to encounter the living God. Two hours later I found myself in Drumskinny Enniskillen, visiting relatives who have a farm. It was a truly warm and salutary lesson in caring for the elderly. I was so pleased to meet my mother's cousin who is ninety, but I was deeply touched by the loved and attention paid to this wonderful old lady in her declining years by all her family and especially her young grand daughter. It got me thinking of the total relevance of the theme "Passing The faith to the next generation." when we get older our relevance is not in the things we do or have done. Our relevance is in our being.
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