Why Joy is Fleeting

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The settled happiness and security which we all desire, God withholds from us by the very nature of the world: but joy, pleasure, and merriment, he has scattered broadcast. We are never safe, but we have plenty of fun, and some ecstasy. It is not hard to see why. The security we crave would teach us to rest our hearts in this world and oppose an obstacle to our return to God: a few moments of happy love, a landscape, a symphony, a merry meeting with our friends, a bathe or a football match, have no such tendency. Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home. -C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

 

Fellow Pilgrims, we are not home yet.

 

2 responses

  1. Amen. Good words here. It’s important to nourish our homesickness sometimes, as much as it hurts.

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    1. Thanks for the comment! Yes, it’s altogether too easy to try (or even succeed!) in looking for our joy or contentment here in the now. Constant reminders about our home and identity are necessary to keep our eyes fixed where they belong: on Him and on Home.

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Joshua Ray is a Pastor and Author who loves to think deeply about faith, culture, and what makes life worth living.

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