Review: Eternity in our Heart

“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” - C.S Lewis, Mere Christianity

In her article, ‘Eternity in Our Heart’, Kelly Kruse discusses the sense of longing she has experienced throughout her entire life. She employs the German word sehnsucht which describes feeling homesickness for a place you’ve never been. She describes her creativity, her appreciation for beauty, art and music and how none of these things really capture the fullness of anything - they are just shadows of what we are trying to capture, leaving her longing for the full, completed thing.

There are treasured times when an everyday experience speaks powerfully into our lives. For many, creative expression, such as in music and art, is a valuable way to express our beliefs and stir our hearts in deep and meaningful ways. Another practice this happens powerfully in is the Eucharist (communion) where mundane elements take on new meaning and represent a gift of grace available to us. However, like with communion, these spirit filled events are only echoes of our longing for something better to come.

Kruse’s piece illustrates that we should take some time to marvel at the beauty here on Earth because every fragment of it is a promise of something better to come. A place where there is no suffering and the cadence of our songs continue beautifully on in permanence and do not wear on our ears or leave us jaded by their repetition. Although we can’t know for certain exactly what heaven looks like, I think that through these mediums, which God has clearly given to us, we can catch glimpses of the eternal paradise he has in store.

Read the article: ‘Eternity in Our Heart’