Inns, Not Homes

A wonderful truth I have learned from C.S. Lewis, recently, is the goodness of not having all that we might want—especially when it comes to security that is derived not from God but from wordly comforts. From The Problem of Pain:

“The Christian doctrine of suffering explains, I believe, a very curious fact about the world we live in. 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 [abroad]. 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…our return to God: a few moments of happy love, a landscape, a symphony, a merry meeting with out friends, a bath or a football match, have no such tendency. Our heavenly Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.”