Sweetness, Sadness, and Longing For The Lord

“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.” 

 

These words that C.S. Lewis penned into Mere Christianity come to my mind at the strangest of times. The rest of his thought continues: 

 

“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 you have stood at the top of a mountain, and even the wonder displayed beneath you wasn’t enough, Lewis’ sentiment is for you. 

If you have been through a once-in-a-lifetime experience, yet felt sorrow in the midst of it, his sentiment is for you. 

If the days that will be remembered as the best in your life all leave you with a kind of sweet sadness at the end, his sentiment is for you. 

For so much of my life, I thought something was wrong with me. The grand moments never gave as much joy as they promised. The wonders of the world were wonderful, yes, but they still lacked something. My best days didn’t satisfy.

Even in the sweetness, there was sadness lurking around the edges. 

It wasn’t until I read Lewis’ thoughts in tandem with Scripture that the pieces clicked together. 

We live in a world that is fallen. We are fallen people. Redeemed, yes, but sin still lurks here. Nothing in this world broken by sin will be completely sweet, completely satisfying. 

We’re not meant for here. We’re meant to be present with the LORD. Paul acknowledged that when he told the Colossians where their focus should be: 

 

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-3)”

 

I want to see and taste all the beautiful things in this world because the LORD has given good gifts. Yet, when the sadness creeps into what should totally satisfy, it’s okay. This world is not my home, and that sadness is really just homesickness to be present with my God.