Quote by C.S. Lewis
We are, not metaphorically but in very truth, a Divine work of art, something that God is making, and therefore something with which He will not be satisfied until it has a certain character. Here again we come up against what I have called the intolerable compliment. Over a sketch made idly to amuse a child, an artist may not take much trouble: he may be content to let it go even though it is not exactly as he meant it to be. But over the great picture of his life the work which he loves, though in a different fashion, as intensely as a man loves a woman or a mother a child he will take endless trouble and would doubtless, thereby give endless trouble to the picture if it were sentient. One can imagine a sentient picture, after being rubbed and scraped and re-commenced for the tenth time, wishing that it were only a thumb-nail sketch whose making was over in a minute. In the same way, it is natural for us to wish that God had designed for us a less glorious and less arduous destiny; but then we are wishing not for more love but for less.
Summary
This quote explains that we, as human beings, are not just random creations but a masterpiece of God that He continues to work on until we reach a certain character. It compares the way an artist may casually create a sketch for a child's amusement, without much effort, to the way God meticulously crafts the artwork of our lives, with deep love and care. While it may be natural for us to desire an easier or less significant destiny, it implies that this would ultimately mean wishing for less love from God.
By C.S. Lewis
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