Eternally Out Of Date
I am loving reading the great book, C.S. Lewis: A Life: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Profit by Alister E. McGrath. In the book, he gives context to C.S. Lewis’ saying, “All that is not eternal is eternally out of date.” Lewis was expressing the idea that things that are not timeless or everlasting in nature eventually become obsolete or irrelevant. In other words, anything that does not have eternal value or significance will eventually fade away and lose its relevance in the grand scheme of things. I believe we must live in the present with a view toward the eternal. By viewing life this way it completely flips our priorities. Life becomes less about instant gratification and more about purpose and significance.
While it appears that Lewis believed that true wisdom and meaning could only be found in eternal truths and principles that transcend time and temporal concerns, I also believe that he was referring to being open to changes in the non-eternal. His own life took many twists and turns – even his own conversation from atheism to believing in Christ. Lewis had a deliberate intellectual strategy of open-mindedness. It has been said that Lewis had a passion for people and arguments. He could separate the person from the person’s opinion – not easy to do. Remember, if it’s not eternal it is eternally out of date! Lewis was not always this way and recognized he had to develop this ability to hear and seek to understand others’ opinions in himself. Others’ perspectives help supplement, iterate, and sometimes even change our own. Lewis understood this in both his personal and professional life, and provides an example for us to follow.
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