The Beginning of the Quest; Chapter 1

The thesis of the book, Heaven, The Heart's Deepest Longing by Peter Kreeft, is found on page 43 and is a quote by C. S. Lewis, "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." In the introduction Kreeft is laying a foundation for an apologetic (a defense) from desire. He has explored whether our society, or various philosophies, or our political landscapes have provided for us a basis of truth in which to live our lives. He says that on both accounts we have come up short. Longing for the same thing pervades man's thinking, and that longing is for Heaven or for transcendence.

Kreeft asks the question, "What do you want?" That is very interesting to me, in that Christ asks the same question of his disciples in John 1:35-42:

“The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God!’ 37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, ‘What do you want?’ They said, ‘Rabbi’ (which means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ 39 ‘Come,’ he replied, ‘and you will see.’”

Our hearts tells us many things, which C. S. Lewis and Kreeft both are saying, and here in John we see the Son of God, the creator of our hearts asking what is it that we want. That is amazing to me. I think the Lord is forever asking us this question, not just when everything is new. He woos, He loves us enough to continue to ask us the question, “what do you want?” It is revealed when we least expect it. In our anger, our loneliness, our rebellion. When He shows us what we really want, and offers the solution to it. The solution is always being with Him, going with Him, going to where He stays, dwelling and abiding in Him. Our own solutions always leave us wanting. He is asking you today, “what do you want?” He wants you, and deep within our hearts, we long for something not of this world, we long for Him.

More on this chapter later................