“Prostitutes are in no danger of finding their present life so satisfactory that they cannot turn to God: the proud, the avaricious, the self-righteous, are in that danger.” C.S. Lewis in The Problem of Pain. In this story, we will see how even those that seem too far away from God, can be brought to him, and find complete satisfaction in God.
The Reality of Pain
Take Subject 1 (and spoiler alert, Subject 1 is me). Subject 1 was born into a well-educated, highly-churched, upper-middle-class home. Subject 1 received a top-notch education, was given opportunities to travel around the world, and was generally well-liked and well-respected by everyone she met.
Take Subject 2, we’ll call her Hannah. Hannah was born into a drug-ridden, highly-dysfunctional, lower-class home. By the time Hannah was five, she was in the foster care system, being tossed from house to house. Hannah dropped out of high school at sixteen, which was the same year anyone had ever told her, “I love you.” Coincidentally, the man who told Hannah this also happened to be her pimp.
Obviously, Hannah and I have completely different stories. Hannah knows pain and suffering that I have never had to face. She’s seen things and done things that I, Lord willing, will never have to experience. But let me tell you something else about my friend Hannah.
Several years ago I met Hannah in a strip club. After several conversations, the Lord gave me an opportunity to share the gospel with her. A week later, she went to church with me, where my pastor went into even more details about a sovereign and loving God that was so committed to getting his children back, he sacrificed his own son.
That Sunday, new bible in hand and tears pouring down her face, Hannah surrendered her life to God. Months later, Hannah and I were sitting over coffee and studying the Bible together. We read in Hebrews about how this world is not our home and we are looking for “the city that is to come.”
Satisfaction in God
Hannah looked up from her Bible and said, “You know, this all makes sense now. My whole life I’ve known that something wasn’t right here, that something was broken. Knowing Christ is the very first time in my whole life that I’ve felt . . . satisfied.”
Oh, the conviction I felt when she said that! Can I say the same thing? Is Jesus the only one who satisfies my soul? While I know this is Truth, I fear it’s too often not how I live. I’ve been “satisfied” my whole life, by family, friends, the comforts of this world, by new and exciting life experiences. And while I have been so blessed by these things, I’ve also been so blinded by them! Hannah was given very little to dazzle her on this earth, but imagine how dazzled she is by her God!
Friends, this world is not our home. Let us never be so comfortable in our present circumstances that we are blinded by the true satisfaction we will only find in our God.
