Thread by @RelevantQuest

“Let us suppose that we are doing a mountain walk to the village which is our home. At mid-day we come to the top of a cliff where we are, in space, very near it because it is just below us. We could drop a stone onto it. But as we are no cragsmen we can’t get down…”

“We must go a long way round; five miles, maybe. At many points during that detour we shall, statically, be farther from the village than we were when we sat above the cliff. But only statically. In terms of progress we shall be far ‘nearer’ our baths and teas.”

“Since God is blessed, omnipotent, sovereign & creative, there is obviously a sense in which happiness, strength, freedom & fertility (whether of mind or body), wherever they appear in human life, constitute likenesses, & in that way proximities, to God.”

“But no one supposes that the possession of these gifts has any connection w/our sanctification. No kind of riches is a passport to the Kingdom…

“At the cliff’s top we are near the village, but however long we sit there we shall never be any nearer to our bath & our tea…”

“So here; the likeness, and in that sense nearness, to Himself which God has conferred upon certain creatures and certain states of those creatures is something finished, built in. What is near Him by likeness is never, by that fact alone, going to be any nearer.”

“But nearness of approach is, by definition, increasing nearness. And whereas the likeness is given to us—and can be received with or without thanks, can be used or abused—the approach, however initiated & supported by Grace, is something we must do." —C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

I may have attributes of myself that point to my Divine Parents & my membership of an eternal species. I may enjoy the mortal & spiritual creations which he has finished w/his love & light built in. These peaceable things are gifts of grace.

But it is my path—my labor, the momentum produced by my own will—that brings me closer to him in proximity rather than merely in likeness. I can appear holy, live holy, even be holy, and make no progress toward him.

If he is in the valley & I wave from the cliff, I may be closer in vertical proximity but make no progress toward him. My reward in heaven may be pleasant but incomplete. I enjoyed his light from a comfortable distance, but I never strived to approach him.

The “grace vs. works” argument so often engaged by various sects fails to include all parts of the mortal journey. Christ will save the honest in heart. He will save everyone. But the goal is not merely to escape burning nor to have a pleasant afterlife. The goal is exaltation.

I must determine to emulate him, to approach him, & to become one with him. I must determine to be like him, AND near him, AND an ever-expanding part of his eternal kingdom. If I halt, satisfied with a lesser portion, I have misunderstood the plan & my potential within it.

One unusual doctrine of the Restored Gospel is that almost all of us *will* enjoy rest hereafter (once the Lord has purified us of our sins, be it by accepting his grace or by our own pain in the Refiner’s fire). The brightness of our hereafter will be as varied as the stars.

Another unique doctrine is that clouds & harps are not the primary goal. We’re here to “level up”—to make covenants, link ourselves to the eternal family, exercise God’s priesthood, & serve his purposes. We’re here to become exalted creatures of the higher order—if we so choose.

I must never be content to admire the Kingdom of God from cliffside as I picnic in the sun, content with vertical proximity that will never bring me closer to his side. Such a life may provide rest & godlike bliss, but never progress, never understanding or increase.

I must pack up and move, sometimes without the utopia within my view, sometimes through perilous woods and rocky terrain. I must venture the long and arduous path. But the path is strait. It will lead into God’s city where I may be like him, near him, & one with him.

God loves all of his children. He will be most pleased to have all of them in his presence again, in whatever capacity they can return. But he planted potential in each of us to be much more than happy citizens of varied glories.

Each man is his offspring—made to be a priest, a king, an immortal father. Each woman is his offspring, inherent to the offices of priestess and queen—an immortal mother.

Such an education requires diligent approach to the Savior & a determination to join him, learn from him, do his very will. No superficial, self-affirming affection is sufficient for such a metamorphosis. Do not settle. Stand up. Secure your provisions. Mark his path & go to him.