7 November

Today’s the day when in 1913 the French Novelist Albert Camus was born. He is most famous for his 1942 novel ‘The Stranger’ and his later book ‘The Plague’ in which he expressed his views on the absurdity and futility of human labour. In his view no events had any significance or meaning so the best we can hope to do is to make our own meaning by trying to enjoy our struggles. Camus was a long way from the Biblical view of life, which tells us that God has created us with the special purpose of reflecting his glory by the way we live our lives and becoming more like him. This is how the Apostle Paul sums it the astonishing purpose God has given us for living, in 2 Corinthians chapter 3:

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.