Learning In War-Time

In my humble opinion, this is Lewis at his best. So much of my copy is highlighted because nearly every sentence is note-worthy. Some of my favorites, including both those we did and did not discuss in class, are:
"There is no essential quarrel between the spiritual life and the human activities as such. Thus the omnipresence of obedience to God in a Christian's life is, in a way, analogous to the omnipresence of God in space. God does not fill space as  a body fills it, in the sense that parts of Him are in different parts of space, excluding other objects from them. Yet He is everywhere--totally present at every point in space--according to good theologians." I like the idea that we can participate in human activities that are not strictly "religious" and still be obedient and still glorify God through these activities. I also just like his description of God in space, and how His omnipresence is all-inclusive, just as our obedience to Him need not exclude certain activities simply for not being "religious" or "spiritual."
"An appetite for these things exists in the human mind, and God makes no appetite in vain. We can therefore pursue knowledge as such, and beauty, as such, in the sure confidence that by so doing we are either advancing to the vision of God ourselves or indirectly helping others do so." I just love the idea of God giving us the appetite for learning, and therefore we can spend this time as students glorifying God through our work here and we can also help others through it.
"Never, in peace or war, commit your virtue or your happiness to the future. Happy work is best done by the man who takes his long-term plans somewhat lightly and works from moment to moment 'as to the Lord.'" I think this is such an encouragement for college. Everyone asks us about our futures and expect us to have it all figured out. But as many of us have found, deciding on a career path at 18 is not the easiest thing in the world. It is nice to have these words to remind us that what really matters is if we are living our lives for God in the here and now. It is important that we get our futures over to God and focus on the things we can do to live for Him this very day.