CS Lewis writes something to the effect that if you have a desire that nothing on this earth can satisfy, then that unfulfilled longing points to a future fulfillment in another dimension, that is later when we have new bodies on a new earth.
He bases that argument on the simple truth of:
- hunger pointing to food for satisfaction and
- fatigue being remedied by sleep and
- work as the antidote to the desire to make a meaningful difference in life.
I recently was re-comforted with Lewis’ explanation when I gazed out at the beauty of our Smokey Mountains here in Western North Carolina. Sometimes my heart is stunned and unable to drink in God’s splendor. I want to absorb it, holding on to it forever,but can’t. And then I feel sorrow and regret at having fallen short.
Per Lewis’ logic, however, one day you and I will have the capacity to take in beauty, to digest it. But in these limited bodies, we can only gaze and marvel and leave what God has created outside of us, underused.
Moving from external beauty to the beauty of God’s word, I recently came across a glimpse into how pastor John Piper views Scripture. His words gripped my heart because they were echoes pointing to my longings, too!
Early one Sunday morning my discipline was taking me through Luke 18. It was one of those times when God came near with unusual force. Christ stood out from the pages as irresistibly compelling. Every paragraph made my soul yearn to be radically obedient to Jesus. I felt that no one ever spoke like this man. No one ever lived free like this man. No one ever demanded what he demanded and gave what he gave. So I wanted to take this chapter with me all day and feed on it and fight unbelief with it. I didn’t have time to memorize it. What could I do? I decided to tag each paragraph and remember a key statement from each paragraph under that tag. I noticed that I could think of tags that began with the same letter…..
This man wanted to ingest God’s words just like we do when our hearts are pierced by nature. When we know we can’t quite take it all in. We lack the dimensions, the faculties, the capacities to do justice to God’s creation to His Word. But if we apply CS Lewis thinking, we can reassure ourselves with THE FACT that:
- If we have a longing that can’t be satisfied on earth in these bodies, then we can be confident that somewhere and at a point in the future, God WILL satisfy, fulfill and meet those good desires with what He created them for.
Our hungers are ultimately longings for God.
Can you wait?
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Cor 2:9
Reflections on God's Word 
Aug 14, 2016 @ 14:17:01
Maria, that resonates with me! You express yourself so well!
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Aug 14, 2016 @ 18:04:53
Joyce – God be praised for the power of His word and words. Thanks for reading and commenting!
Aug 14, 2016 @ 19:47:49
Your quotation from 1 Corinthians reminded me of the verse I wrote in my journal just now – from Lamentations 3:22 and a song we sometime sing at church: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning, new every morning, great is Thy faithfulness, O God, great is Thy faithfulness.
Aug 14, 2016 @ 19:52:30
What you say about the new mercies reminds me of Scotty SMith’s prayer for today: (look at his coined phrase- MERCY-MATH)
31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?
Heavenly Father, it’s hard to stand up under the weight of all the grace in this passage! Indeed, when I consider your great love for us in Jesus, how is it possible for me to indulge in whining, justify my complaining, or linger in griping? When I do the mercy-math, all the wonderful things you are to us and have done for us, FAR outweigh all provocations, irritations, and exasperations of life.