The mold in which a key is made would be a strange thing, if you had never seen a key: and the key itself a strange thing if you had never seen a lock. Your soul has a curious shape because it is a hollow made to fit a particular swelling in the infinite contours of the divine substance, or a key to unlock one of the doors in the house with many mansions.Your place in heaven will seem to be made for you and you alone, because you were made for it -- made for it stitch by stitch as a glove is made for a hand.
C.S. Lewis The Problem of Pain
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C.S. Lewis illustrates the idea that just as a key's mold is designed specifically for a corresponding lock, our souls are uniquely shaped to fulfill a purpose in the divine plan. He compares our essence to a key that unlocks a door in a vast spiritual realm, suggesting there is a specific space crafted for each individual in the afterlife. This conveys the notion that our lives and destinies are intricately tailored, echoing the depth of the divine arrangement around us.

Moreover, Lewis emphasizes that our existence is purposeful, akin to a glove fitting a hand perfectly. Each individual is made deliberately for their place in heaven, suggesting that our unique attributes and experiences are integral to a greater design. The imagery of being crafted "stitch by stitch" reinforces the idea that we have a significant role to play in a larger cosmic narrative, underscoring the interconnection between our earthly lives and our eternal destinies.

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The Problem of Pain
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Other quotes in The Problem of Pain

The problem of reconciling human suffering with the existence of a God who loves, is only insoluble so long as we attach a trivial meaning to the word "love", and look on things as if man were the centre of them. Man is not the centre. God does not exist for the sake of man. Man does not exist for his own sake. "Thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." We were made not primarily that we may love God {though we were made for that too} but that God may love us, that we may become objects in which the divine love may rest "well pleased".
C.S. Lewis The Problem of Pain
The problem of reconciling human suffering with the existence of a God who loves, is only insoluble so long as we attach a trivial meaning to the word "love", and look on things as if man were the centre of them. Man is not the centre. God does not exist for the sake of man. Man does not exist for his own sake. "Thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." We were made not primarily that we may love God {though we were made for that too} but that God may love us, that we may become objects in which the divine love may rest "well pleased".
Try to exclude the possibility of suffering which the order of nature and the existence of free-wills involve, and you find that you have excluded life itself.
C.S. Lewis The Problem of Pain
Try to exclude the possibility of suffering which the order of nature and the existence of free-wills involve, and you find that you have excluded life itself.
We regard God as an airman regards his parachute; it's there for emergencies but he hopes he'll never have to use it.
C.S. Lewis The Problem of Pain
We regard God as an airman regards his parachute; it's there for emergencies but he hopes he'll never have to use it.
To enter heaven is to become more human than you ever succeeded in being on earth; to enter hell, is to be banished from humanity.
C.S. Lewis The Problem of Pain
To enter heaven is to become more human than you ever succeeded in being on earth; to enter hell, is to be banished from humanity.
The real problem is not why some pious, humble, believing people suffer, but why some do not.
C.S. Lewis The Problem of Pain
The real problem is not why some pious, humble, believing people suffer, but why some do not.
Love may, indeed, love the beloved when her beauty is lost: but not because it is lost. Love may forgive all infirmities and love still in spite of them: but Love cannot cease to will their removal. Love is more sensitive than hatred itself to every blemish in the beloved… Of all powers he forgives most, but he condones least: he is pleased with little, but demands all.
C.S. Lewis The Problem of Pain
Love may, indeed, love the beloved when her beauty is lost: but not because it is lost. Love may forgive all infirmities and love still in spite of them: but Love cannot cease to will their removal. Love is more sensitive than hatred itself to every blemish in the beloved… Of all powers he forgives most, but he condones least: he is pleased with little, but demands all.
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I don't have anything against God. Far from it. But I don't understand Him. And I don't trust a lot of the people that go around claiming that they're working in His best interests.
Jim Butcher Grave Peril
I don't have anything against God. Far from it. But I don't understand Him. And I don't trust a lot of the people that go around claiming that they're working in His best interests.
I found Esau's field guide at the bottom of my pack. Taking a candle into the bedroom, I read his book until my eyes grew heavy. From his vast notes, it seemed that almost every plant and tree in the jungle had a reason for existing. I caught myself wishing there was a page in his guide that had my picture on it with the reason for my existence written underneath in Esau's neat hand.
Maria V. Snyder Magic Study
I found Esau's field guide at the bottom of my pack. Taking a candle into the bedroom, I read his book until my eyes grew heavy. From his vast notes, it seemed that almost every plant and tree in the jungle had a reason for existing. I caught myself wishing there was a page in his guide that had my picture on it with the reason for my existence written underneath in Esau's neat hand.
{...} what I wish for Chizalum is the following: that she is full of opinions, and that her opinions stem from a well-informed, humane, and open mind. That she have health and happiness. That she have the life she wants to have.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Dear Ijeawele, or A...
{...} what I wish for Chizalum is the following: that she is full of opinions, and that her opinions stem from a well-informed, humane, and open mind. That she have health and happiness. That she have the life she wants to have.
«In memory of the countless men and women of all creeds, nations, and races who fell victim to the fascist and communist belief in the Inexorable Laws of Historical Destiny.»
Mario Vargas Llosa The call of the tribe
«In memory of the countless men and women of all creeds, nations, and races who fell victim to the fascist and communist belief in the Inexorable Laws of Historical Destiny.»
"That's a huge gamble." "We're long past the time for careful certainty."
Peter F. Hamilton The Evolutionary Void
"That's a huge gamble." "We're long past the time for careful certainty."
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