Paul David Tripp과 C. S. Lewis

TUESDAY, MARCH 03, 2015

Made For Another World

There are a few authors who open new doors for me and make me think in new ways; C.S. Lewis is one of those authors. And there are a few books that that I have read that have proven to be transformative; Mere Christianity was that kind of book for me.

Today I want to share with you an excerpt from that book that profoundly influenced my life, followed by a poem I wrote several years ago after being inspired by Lewis' words.

THE EXCERPT

"Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise [...] 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."

Lewis continues, "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."

- C. S. Lewis, from Mere Christianity, pp. 135-137. Published by HarperCollins. Buy on Amazon.

MADE FOR ANOTHER WORLD

Here's my response, in poetic form:

I give painful

evidence every day.

I experience it in

predictable and unpredictable

moments.

I guess I should know

better,

but I am often

caught off guard.

There is an

insatiable longing

inside of me,

a thirst that never

seems to be

quenched.

This deep hunger

doesn't go away

no matter how busy

I get

or how hard I work to be

distracted.

I long for

Justice

Love 

Hope

Peace

Perfection

Satisfaction

Mercy

Contentment

Rest

Harmony

Joy

and none of these

longings

ever gets fully

satisfied.

And so in my quest

for more

I am faced with 

the incontrovertible

daily evidence

that this simply is not all

that there is

and the sure truth

that I was 

hardwired

for another world.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

HarperOne is keeping the legacy of C.S. Lewis alive on social media. You can like the C.S. Lewis Facebook Page and follow the C.S. Twitter Profile.

You can also check out more of my thoughts on eternity, found in Forever: Why You Can't Live Without It. In this book and conference, I argue that if we indeed were created to live forever, it would make a significant difference in the way we lived in the here and now.

If you want to think about your family, your friendships, and your finances from an eternity perspective, check out Forever.

(자료출처 http://www.paultripp.com/articles/posts/made-for-another-world)