C.S. Lewis Quote... your thoughts please

[akascottb]

"It matters more that Heaven should exist than that we should ever get there."

C.S. Lewis
surprised by joy

Lewis is one of my favorite writers and this statement jumped out at me. I was not sure at first whether I agreed or disagreed with it and have been contemplating it for a couple of days. would anyone else care to comment?

thank you

[Fish and Bread]

I think a lot of Christians think of heaven in a goal-oriented way. They say if there is a paradise, they want to make sure they get there. There's nothing wrong with that. And yet, I wonder if what is more important about the doctrine of heaven is that such an ideal exists and that there is a place where God dwells beyond our understanding. Even if heaven were a place humans couldn't go, it's existence would give us something to strive to make earth more like and also reassure us that God exists. I don't know that I agree with Lewis that the existence of heaven is more important than getting there, especially given that it is in a way a false choice since one can't get to heaven if it doesn't exist in the first place, but I do think the quote referenced raises a lot of interesting things to think about. Thank you for sharing it. :)

John

[Naomi4Christ]

"It matters more that Heaven should exist than that we should ever get there."

C.S. Lewis
surprised by joy

Lewis is one of my favorite writers and this statement jumped out at me. I was not sure at first whether I agreed or disagreed with it and have been contemplating it for a couple of days. would anyone else care to comment?

thank you

Difficult to comment fully without more of the paragraph, but on just seeing those words they are very appealing to a "life before death" type Christian. Heaven exists and wouldn't it be great if we could contribute to making earth more like heaven (as in the Lord's prayer - your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven). So, you should do your best to become like Christ and do the things that he would want us to do - live a right relationship with one another, and consequently have a joyful life. It's much better to be joyful than it is to be pious.

[Naomi4Christ]

I thought this was a great question, so bumping up to see if anyone else has any thoughts.

[karen freeinchristman]

"It matters more that Heaven should exist than that we should ever get there."
C.S. Lewis

I love this. God's purposes and God's realm matters much more than our existence, or our own place within Heaven. Part of our self-preserving nature, and our vanity, likes to think that what matters more than Heaven itself is that we will actually get there. For if we do not get there, what would it matter (in our earthly way of thinking), that it exists? Its quite a philosophical statement, isn't it!