"Okay. Pause a second. Breathe and think," are the words I was telling myself while trying to grasp the concepts hidden in Milton's sentences, structured so uniquely, for lack of a better term. I understand the rhythm of the words and the iambic pentameter in and of itself, but come on Milton, was it necessary to have Raphael speak so long about cannons? Nevertheless, Raphael's recap (though a little long winded for my taste, not to mention how it stretched between multiple books) of the battle in the heavens reminds readers of the constant battle among the spiritual realm. As he sits at the table of Adam and Eve his "story time" reminds them of their position and purposeful placement on Earth as well as the realm of the unseen which fights to protect them as they walk about, hopelessly in love, tending to the garden of Eden ("Paradise").
I think we often times do the same thing though. How so? Well I'm glad you asked.
We wander about this rock we are confined to, hopelessly in love with our friends, family, and objects we surround ourselves with. We tend to our own little, man-made versions of Paradise and try to convince ourselves that tending our metaphorical plants will keep us in favor with God as long as we shy away from our "tree of knowledge of good and evil." Our spiritual playbook is filled with ways we can achieve the life-giving promises of the Lord while just barely (and rather skillfully) missing the one item we are not allowed to posses. BUT our garden is mortal. We are human. And God casually reminds us of this when we stop to think of the spiritual battle all around us. We are completely and utterly powerless on our own terms to fight the battle and win the war. The eternal war has been waged and is not ceasing until the final day of judgement comes. Raphael's reminder to Adam and Eve is much like God's reminder to us. We are not heavenly beings and we cannot fight as such, but only by depending on Christ and His protection will we be safeguarded from the evil schemes of the foe.
I commented on Moriah's and Osten's posts.
I think we often times do the same thing though. How so? Well I'm glad you asked.
We wander about this rock we are confined to, hopelessly in love with our friends, family, and objects we surround ourselves with. We tend to our own little, man-made versions of Paradise and try to convince ourselves that tending our metaphorical plants will keep us in favor with God as long as we shy away from our "tree of knowledge of good and evil." Our spiritual playbook is filled with ways we can achieve the life-giving promises of the Lord while just barely (and rather skillfully) missing the one item we are not allowed to posses. BUT our garden is mortal. We are human. And God casually reminds us of this when we stop to think of the spiritual battle all around us. We are completely and utterly powerless on our own terms to fight the battle and win the war. The eternal war has been waged and is not ceasing until the final day of judgement comes. Raphael's reminder to Adam and Eve is much like God's reminder to us. We are not heavenly beings and we cannot fight as such, but only by depending on Christ and His protection will we be safeguarded from the evil schemes of the foe.
I commented on Moriah's and Osten's posts.
Comments