“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, Mere Christianity
It is not your intentions, but your direction that determines your Destination!
Lewis has a masterful way of combining words that captures the essence of what I think we’re all feeling. That deep desire for adventure, nobility and mission for something greater than ourselves. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia series was born out of this adventurous mindset. In a world filled with adventure, danger and excitement, the Christian faith comes alive and millions of readers have been captivated by its imagery and message.
So what’s happened? How has Christianity become more fantasy than fact, more story rather than substance. Because we’re too easily bored. Church is just church, Bible study is just more study and ministry is work. Christianity is in decline because we’re more thrilled by new technology rather than changed lives.
The human soul is a deep, almost unfathomable mystery of experiences, passions and dreams. Each soul is a unique sculpture of time, temperament and truth. We gaze upon great works by DaVinci, Michelangelo, and Rembrandt yet can walk by a homeless man or woman without seeing the miracle before us. We’re too easily bored.
Lewis reminds us that we must not give up pursuing our true country. We must learn to see with different eyes, hear with different ears and speak a different kind of language. Heaven is not, in my book, a reward for making it to the end (which we all do), but the realization of a life’s journey. Our True Country.
“I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now…Come further up, come further in!”― C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle
We didn’t think gap time and “boredom” were valuable. Now that we’re losing it, we get a sense of just how valuable it was.