WORSHIP, BELIEF, HOPE (52 OF 56)
Worship, Belief, Hope (52 of 56)
Series: The Church in ACTSion
Wyman Richardson
Acts 24
Read Acts 24
Evelyn Waugh was a famous satirist and novelist in the early part of the twentieth century. A Christian, Waugh usually found a way to speak in all of his novels about the most important things in life. In his novel, Decline and Fall, there is a scene in which Otto Silenus tells the hero of the story, Paul, about the meaning of life. His illustration is powerful:
''...Shall I tell you about life?''
''Yes, do,'' said Paul politely.
''Well, it's like the big wheel at Luna Park. Have you seen the big wheel?''
''No, I'm afraid not.''
''You pay five francs and go into a room with tiers of seats all round, and in the centre the floor is made of a great disc of polished wood that revolves quickly. At first you sit down and watch the others. They are all trying to sit in the wheel, and they keep getting flung off, and that makes them laugh, and you laugh too. It's great fun.''
''I don't think that sounds very much like life,'' said Paul rather sadly.
''Oh, but it is, though. You see, the nearer you can get to the hub of the wheel the slower it is moving and the easier it is to stay on. There's generally some one in the centre who stands up and sometimes does a sort of dance. Often he's paid by the management, though, or, at any rate, he's allowed in free. Of course at the very centre there's a point completely at rest, if one could only find it. I'm not sure I am not very near that point myself. Of course the professional men get in the way. Lots of people just enjoy scrambling on and being whisked off and scrambling on again. How they all shriek and giggle! Then there are others...who sit as far out as they can and hold on for dear life and enjoy that.''
What a fascinating picture of life, and how true! Life, Otto says, is like a great turning wheel. If you sit at the edges, you get thrown off and hurt. At the very least, you get dizzy and disoriente ...
Series: The Church in ACTSion
Wyman Richardson
Acts 24
Read Acts 24
Evelyn Waugh was a famous satirist and novelist in the early part of the twentieth century. A Christian, Waugh usually found a way to speak in all of his novels about the most important things in life. In his novel, Decline and Fall, there is a scene in which Otto Silenus tells the hero of the story, Paul, about the meaning of life. His illustration is powerful:
''...Shall I tell you about life?''
''Yes, do,'' said Paul politely.
''Well, it's like the big wheel at Luna Park. Have you seen the big wheel?''
''No, I'm afraid not.''
''You pay five francs and go into a room with tiers of seats all round, and in the centre the floor is made of a great disc of polished wood that revolves quickly. At first you sit down and watch the others. They are all trying to sit in the wheel, and they keep getting flung off, and that makes them laugh, and you laugh too. It's great fun.''
''I don't think that sounds very much like life,'' said Paul rather sadly.
''Oh, but it is, though. You see, the nearer you can get to the hub of the wheel the slower it is moving and the easier it is to stay on. There's generally some one in the centre who stands up and sometimes does a sort of dance. Often he's paid by the management, though, or, at any rate, he's allowed in free. Of course at the very centre there's a point completely at rest, if one could only find it. I'm not sure I am not very near that point myself. Of course the professional men get in the way. Lots of people just enjoy scrambling on and being whisked off and scrambling on again. How they all shriek and giggle! Then there are others...who sit as far out as they can and hold on for dear life and enjoy that.''
What a fascinating picture of life, and how true! Life, Otto says, is like a great turning wheel. If you sit at the edges, you get thrown off and hurt. At the very least, you get dizzy and disoriente ...
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