South Africa is a land of breathtaking natural beauty. Nelson Mandela, acknowledging his obvious bias, once said that he believed it is the most beautiful place on earth. I cannot disagree.
Yesterday we had the opportunity to hike the Cape of Good Hope. We saw baboons, wild ostriches and even penguins, but it was the majesty of the land itself that left me speechless. As we began our final ascent before reaching the end of the cape, I looked out over the windswept cliffs and gleaming ocean and the only words that came to mind were, "Further up and further in."
If you are a CS Lewis fan, you will know what I mean. These words are used in The Chronicles of Narnia to describe the ascent into Aslan's country. CS Lewis believed that when we are awestruck by natural beauty, we are experiencing a longing for our true home -- that place where all of creation is made perfect, no longer veiled in shadow.
I have indeed been awestruck by the beauty of this magnificent land, but I know that I have only been given a shadowy glimpse of what is yet to come. What joy it will bring to one day truly go "further up and further in."
--SSM
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