I love this quote by C.S. Lewis. Don't skip it and go on to the rest. For those of you who read my blog and tell me it's the only thing you ever read, let me just clue you in...C.S. Lewis really is a much more noted and talented writer than I, so take a sec and read it. And to the rest of you, stop laughing, Suzette really didn't know and would have skipped his great quote. So here it is:
“Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand, never to despise, or be unthankful for, these earthly blessings, and on the other, never to mistake them for the something else of which they are only a kind of copy, or echo, or mirage. I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and to help others to do the same.”
The band Downhere has a song about Heaven that says, "From the corner of my eye, there's a tear I'm tryin' to cry...but the feeling can't be found. Like a note thrills in a song, when I play it again, it's gone...cause it was never in the sound." Yeah, there's something out there. Something we want and just can't get a hold of . Something we miss, but we've never had. We can almost taste it...we know it's there.
In Heaven, full robust flavors we've imagined...those whose existence we sometimes doubted, will explode onto our palettes in burst of unbelievable satisfaction. Earth's appeals will vanish in the experience of God. Then, we will realize that all we thought we wanted while on earth was actually just a picture on a menu, tasteless and useless to fill us. What flavor and color and satisfaction we experience here on this earth is only to give us a taste of what is to come. And we will never hunger again. What is it that you are hungry for?
Rapture. Jesus' return. Heaven. Completeness. Wholeness. And the list goes on.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree, Hope. We were never made to be complete on this earth. God put a hunger in us for something more - a purposeful discontent. We have to give in to that discontent, otherwise the world might grab onto us and never let go.
Love this post - very thought provoking.
Excellent. Love it. Love CS Lewis too. Nice!
ReplyDeleteThere is an interesting series of articles (http://author.nationalreview.com/?q=MjkxMA==) by Dinesh D'Souza that goes along (sorta) with this idea of looking for something greater. They are an argument FOR "cosmic justice" being the reason for morality. I thought they were fascinating - deep but interesting take.
ReplyDeleteThat said, one of these days...
Hey Becca, I just took time to read the article. That really is fascinating. The author didn't address how we came to be in conflict with our actions, but of course it seems to fit that the conundrum began in the garden. Good thoughts!
ReplyDeleteTo clarify....he did address WHY we are in conflict. But just not when that first occurred. Oh yeah.....ADD is kickin in strong today.
ReplyDelete