All I could think of when I read this was...wow. I've been mulling over this for weeks now. Thinking it through. Chewing on it, and finding it true in my life what Lewis quoted.
"If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith."
In my short life time, I have been raised in church's steeped in tradition, told what to believe, and that desiring my own good and seeking it was a bad, a selfish thing. And I agree, it is. Unless in seeking my own good and the enjoyment of it, I pursue hard after Christ. Reading Lewis' words has changed that view, forever in my mind and heart. It would only be right to clear up a question that you might be asking yourself. Is Mike nuts. And that answer to that might be to some, yes. But, think about it. Why did you come to Christ? Why did you accept the Salvation that Christ offered to you as He revealed Himself to you through the gospel? You realized the gross state sin had made of your soul, and your eyes were opened to the sin that ravaged your body, mind and heart. Because you saw the staggering depth of His love towards you, you understood the magnitude of His grace that was shown to you, and you accepted the life offered to you. You wanted to be better then you were, you desired your own good. And in order to have that good, forgiveness of sin, the eternal life, peace, joy etc., you desired what was good for you, you desired God, the one who could give you all those things. Think about that.
God is the embodiment of everything or anything that is good. He defines what good is, and means. He is "good" itself. In Genesis 1:3 we see that God created the light, and He said it was very good. Everything God created, and does is good.
"Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak."
The "unblushing" promises of the gospels: Matthew 5:3-11 to name a few.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven! (For yours is the kingdom of heaven)
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted! (You will be comforted) Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth! (You will inherit the earth) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be satisfied! (You will be satisfied)
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy! (You will receive mercy) Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God! (Be pure in your heart from sin, and you will see God!)
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God!
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven! (look at that, when we are persecuted for righteousness sake, we will inherit the kingdom of heaven; that is amazingly mind blowing!)
And finally, "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad! For great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Wow, wow, look at that.
The rewards that are promised to us, are huge! But rarely do we take time to let it sink into our minds, and then let the weight of what those versus say sink into our hearts and effect our lives. And those things that are promised to us, are for our good. They benefit us like crazy! I think that I am starting to see that "it would seem that our Lord finds my desires, not too strong, but too weak." My desires to do righteousness are more often then not, weak and pathetic in light of what I am promised in scripture as a reward. And as if that wasn't enough, we not only get rewards, but we get God, we get to gaze upon the one who has saved us in his mercy, and made us His people and be with Him and enjoy Him forever. And yet I miss it, completely. My desires are often next to nothing for my God, my Lord. Don't get me wrong, we don't just go to God so that we get good things, no. But God Himself is goodness, and desiring good things leads us to God, motivates us to seek Him out.
"We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. C. S. Lewis."
Personally I say that Lewis was very generous to us in his statement of us being halfhearted creatures, our desires are half of the half he writes, if even that most of the time. David I believe had much more of a handle on just what God has to offer, because he writes about it in Psalm 16:11 "You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fulness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasure forevermore." He got it, and understood it. On of the pleasures he delighted in is in "Psalm 27:4 One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple." The pleasure of gazing upon the beauty of the Lord. We don't have to go to a temple anymore, we are the temple of God. Amazing! But we don't understand that, we don't comprehend that.
Are we so easily pleased with ourselves, our sin? With our "toys" and things that fill our lives everyday. Are we so easily bought that we will give up our time with the Lord so easily to fulfill desires that we think we need? Do we give in to sin and it's pleasures that we know only lasts for a season, because we can have it now, and forget the pleasures that Christ has given to us, and gives to us and will give to us, that never cease, and never end? Yes, I do, you do, we do. Our desires are weak for our God. We let our minds drift to lusts inwardly, and then our hands follow outwardly. We have to realize the reality of Christ. What He has done, is doing, and will do, and believe it. And find our exsitence, life, joy peace, strength, and love in Him alone apart from everyone and everything else. "Romans 11:36 For from Him and through him and to Him are all things. To Him Be glory forever. Amen.
Psalm 16:11 "You make known to me the path of life;" (He has opened our eye's and revealed to us the gospel, "the path of life". We should never forget the gospel, never let it become old, ever. ! John 2 24-25. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you to will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us - eternal life.)
"in Your presence is fulness of joy;" (in prayer and communion we find the fulness of joy David talks about. In His presence we recount the gospel, we revel in His saving power and selfless sacrifice of the cross. Remember that sin is defeated, and death is conquered. That we are Romans 8:37 in all these things we are more then conquerors through Him who loved us. We meditate on His word, and let Him comfort us with His spirit.)
"at Your right hand are pleasure forevermore."
( The pleasures. 1 John 2:24-25. Eternal life.
Matthew 5:3-11 Your is the kingdom of heaven:
You will be comforted:
You will inherit the earth:
You will be satisfied:
You will receive mercy:
You will see God:
You will be called the sons of God:
Yours is the kingdom of heaven: And these are only some of the many many promises.
Pipers saying holds true.
God is most glorified, when we are most satisfied in Him.
Let God's promises fuel and feed our desires for Him.
Mike
