Our Daily Bread

On the evening of October 22, 1939, Oxford undergraduates packed into St. Mary's University Church hoping for words of comfort and encouragement. This thirteenth century church has a long and rich tradition. Recently, war had been declared on Germany, and tension and unrest reverberated throughout Oxford. It was hoped that C.S. Lewis, an ex-soldier and committed Christian, would put things into perspective. He did.

His address would eventually be published as, “Learning in War-time.” Here is an excerpt:

The war creates no absolutely new situation; it simply aggravates the permanent human situation so that we can no longer ignore it. Human life has always been lived on the edge of a precipice. Human culture has always had to exist under the shadow of something infinitely more important than itself. If men had postponed the search for knowledge and beauty until they were secure, the search would never have begun. We are mistaken when we compare war with "normal life." Life has never been normal. A more Christian attitude, which can be attained at any age, is that of leaving futurity in God's hands. We may as well, for God will certainly retain it whether we leave it to Him or not. 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.” It is only our daily bread that we are encouraged to ask for. The present is the only time in which any duty can be done or any grace received (emphasis mine).

As I mentioned in the sermon on Psalm 123, genuine servants of God lift their eyes to their Master seeking only daily grace and daily bread—“Be Gracious to us, O LORD, be gracious to us” (Psalm 123:3).