“The inconsolable longing”
September 19th, 2008 Posted in encouragement, family, Harvest Crusades, Pastor's corner, questions, sermons
The sun peeking through the trees in Montana (photo by Christopher Laurie, 2008).
We have all experienced those very special moments. That brilliant sunset you watched. A special moment with someone you loved. That incredible place you may have visited.
You thought to yourself, “I wish it could always be this way.” But it isn’t, is it?
Life is filled with sorrows, challenges, trials, and temptations. But it also has it’s many joys. I suggest those joys, even at their highest and purest, are just a foretaste of something far greater to come.
I think the thing we begin to realize, especially when you put your faith in Christ, is that you were really made for another world. As the old song says, “This world is not my home, I’m a just a passin’ through . . . ”
And that is true. The Bible says of our lives on earth, “We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a shadow, gone so soon without a trace” (1 Chronicles 29:15 NLT).
Heaven is our real home, not earth
Do you want to know why that is? It’s because your citizenship is in a different place altogether.
When you have put your faith in Christ, you become a citizen of heaven, because that is your real home, not earth. And this longing we have deep inside of us is for something earth can never deliver on, only heaven.
That is why we will always be a bit “out of tune” with this world and all it celebrates. Even more, those things can just leave us cold. Because we as followers of Jesus know there is something more. Much more.
Deep inside, we all long for this place we have never been. C.S. Lewis called it “the inconsolable longing.”
“The inconsolable longing”
C.S. Lewis called it “the inconsolable longing,” writing:
“There have been times when I think we do not desire heaven, but more often I find myself wondering whether in our heart of hearts, we have ever desired anything else. . . . It is the secret signature of each soul, the incommunicable and unappeasable want, the thing we desired before we met our wives or made our friends or chose our work, and which we shall still desire on our deathbeds when the mind no longer knows wife or friend or work.”
So well said.
I have quite a few family members and friends who are in heaven right now. Of course you know my son Christopher is there now, as well.
I have a lot of investment in heaven, as do some of you. And of course, I am going there someday too. So I have been studying heaven quite a bit lately.
Let’s talk about heaven!
I am going to speak on the topic of heaven this Sunday morning at Harvest. I want to deal with some questions and issues like:
- “What is heaven like?”
- “Will we know one another there?”
- “What will our new bodies be like?”
- “Do people in heaven know what is going on on earth?”
- “How should the hope of heaven affect us while we live on earth?”
It’s often been said, “They are so heavenly-minded, they are no earthly good!” That has to be one of the most idiotic things a person could possibly say.
I think the problem is far more often, “They are so earthly-minded that they are no heavenly good!” So let’s all get more heavenly-minded!
Remember to pray
So come join us live or tune in to the webcast live or in archive form. To find out more about that, click here.
Also, please remember to pray for the Greater Philadelphia Harvest. It is only days away now. The dates are October 3-5. For more info, click here.
This too will be webcast live, so you will not want to miss it. If you would, just remember this crusade in prayer everytime you have a meal.
God bless you all.
I listen to you every morning at 6;00 A.M. Through your message, I discover a kinship with my personal relationship with
Jehovah God and Jesus that I have been building on in wisdom since 1968. You make me feel that I have been on the right track in my devotional love for Jehovah God, my Father because when I listen to you, I hear the same love and recognition of His Holy Spirit working within. I trust in that periodic quietude though!
I absolutely crave brothers and sisters that are really true to His word and His laws. What I am trying to say is I am so happy when I hear the real truth of my Father’s Word, and my heart joyously rejoices in the love and truth I feel in my heart as home! Thank you, Pastor Greg, you deliver that to me!
Sharon Banks
Dear Greg,
I am so sorry for your great sadness. When I saw the title “the unconsolable longing” my heart immediately responded.
My daughter was 28 when she died. It has been almost 8 years. She died of a drug and alchol overdose. It was ruled accidental, I’m not totally sure. I wont know for sure until I get to heaven.
She had been baptized just a year before her death. Then she started in with the drugs and changed.
When she died , I lost much trust in God. He has been faithful to me. You see, I couldnt read His word because it seemed like it was for both my daughter and my self. It condemned her and therefore it condemned me. It has taken me many years to separate myself from my daughter. I still struggle but I do not struggle alone.I know she loved God and accepted Jesus as her savior. I have watched you on tv for a few years now and I get your daily devotion. When christopher went to heaven my heart cried for you and for all those who love him. The loss is so great so consuming .
God is our refuge and strength an ever present help in time of trouble. I know God knows what he is doing and that I must trust him.
God be with you.
sandy
Praying for you Greg and for the Philadelphia Harvest. Bless you for being willing to be used at this time and always. We love you at Calvary Chapel- Lubbock Texas with all our hearts. We’re showing the “Lost Boy” movie soon. Pray that we will step up to the plate and bring unbelievers that they may be saved too.
Love you Greg!
Thank you for this words of encouragement that I will sent to a friend. She has a dear one ill and this words of wisdom will bring peace and comfort.
Pastor Greg,
I have listened to you for a long time and I am so touched by your perspective. Nothing I could say could comfort you but what I know is this: “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3). These words have been a strength for me. I will be praying for you and your family.
Dear Greg,
I wanted you to know that my prayers are with you and the family. I have been going to Harvest since 1988 and I feel you are a part of my family. In 1990 I also lost my son and I could relate when you were talking about things people say when you lose a loved one. I also agree that everyone deals with loss different.
I want you to know that God is using Christoper’s sudden death to win souls for Jesus. I brought my finance to Harvest Crusade on Saturday Night. I went all three nights but he could only make it on Saturday night after work. I got there early and it was packed. I got a call from him and he told me they would not let anyone else in the gates they where closed. I told my friends that I brought I need to go and be with him. He was going to leave. I meet him in the parking lot and we watched it on the screen and listened to it on the radio almost like a drive-in movie. That night I know the Lord through your testimony spoke to his heart. He was raised Catholic and had not went to Church in 12 years. I knew that when I meet him the Lord put him in my life and I needed to be the witness that Jesus would want me to be. He told me that night at the Crusade that he wanted the peace and joy that I had. I told him you can only get that peace and joy through Jesus Christ, not through me or anyone else on this earth. I then prayed more than daily hourly for him to get saved.
Yesterday at the 7:45 service he stood up and dedicated his life and became saved, he then told me, that yesterday was the first day that he had peace and joy his entire life. I want you to also know that he related to the cat story, which by the way went over my head, but God uses your words to win souls, he said the cat was him coming home again, which was back to the Lord.
Thank you for everything and I know that during this time you are hurting, I still miss my son and know that one day I will be reunited with him in heaven as well. I am praying daily for God to give you the peace and help you during this time.
God Bless
Jodi Lee
Greg i hope brittney and lucy are doing well
Rick & Linda Martin
Awesome message yesterday Pastor. I gleaned so much from it. God bless you and your family!
Dear Pastor Greg,
Today I gave my life to the Lord. I will never forget the moment, the moment when I stood at the podium looking up at you and praising the Lord for sending you and Christopher into my life. Your powerful message today about heaven and seeing Christopher again one day, touched my heart in a profound way.
I recently had a son, Andrew, he is 2 months old. I just want to thank you and Christopher for the work you have done in me through Jesus Christ because now I know that when our journey on Earth is complete, Andrew and I will also meet again in heaven. There are no words to express my gratitude, except to say that I will serve the Lord for all the rest of my days with all my heart.
Thank God for you Greg and thank God for your son. I am praying for you and your family, especially for precious Stella.
God Bless you all,
Anita
With a great shout of joy and an outstretched hand, as if touching another hand, my dear father departed his earthly body quite suddenly and unexpectedly. We often marvel and wonder if Dad gave us just a brief witness of Glory as he entered into the presence of the Lord!
HI Pastor Greg
Just a word of encouragement -
“I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.” Jeremiah 31:25
Greg,
Thank you for speaking about what God places
on your heart, it’s such a blessing on so many
levels! I’m so thankful for you and your family
and for what God has been doing in your life.
Your messages, blogs, podcasts and daily devotionals have
been a tremendous blessing in my life! I just can’t thank you enough.
There are not many speakers like you Greg.
Thank u.
Nichole
Dear Pastor Greg,
a smile for you and your family.
Thank you for your message at this morning’s service. I viewed via webcast.
I love you and your family. Through you, God speaks to me daily…thank you.
Heaven is our prize.
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever!”