jordanabina
He’s popular. C.S. Lewis, known to his friends as Jack, is a voice that has influenced men and women all around the world. I first heard his voice through the series of books known as The Chronicles of Narnia. I wasn’t a child when I read them, but in an instant I was a kid again. The idea that this wasn’t the only world available to us, and that others had come from a place further than the current imagination dared to venture, was captivating. Eventually, I learned of C.S. Lewis the scholar, not merely the fantasy writer. Somewhere between 2008-2010 I set out to read everything that was ever published by Lewis and I nearly did. To be honest, much of it was over my head, but even when I didn’t understand it completely, I felt it richly.
The first time I read The Problem of Pain I realized that I was dealing with a mind that was thinking not just aboutdeeper things, but a mind that was geared for deeper things. I don’t get the sense that Lewis was interestedin some of the topics of this book, but merely had to speak about them because remaining silent was something that could not be attained. But even he, says that some of the things he writes are not fully developed or even ready for publication. In referencing this book as a “pain to be borne” he says, “a little courage helps more than knowledge, a little human sympathy more than courage, and the least tincture of the love of God more than all.”
Friends, the preface and introduction alone are worth the time. I remember reading for the first time his reference to Jesus as either a crazy lunatic or “precisely what He said.” I felt a sense of pride around that statement, something that I could latch onto. Does it not help your faith when you see someone smarter and more intellectually than you come into contact with the idea of God and submit to it’s logic? I know it does for me. As I read about Lewis’ conversion experience in another book, it was clear that he was no pushover. His relationship with God started through the exploration of other myths throughout the world, Greek and Norse mythology to name a couple. Lewis had always been fascinated by them and these myths actually played a role in a very candid Christianity conversation between Lewis and his friend J. R. R. Tolkein. Lewis, an atheist, became Lewis the man of deep Christina thought.
There is a moment in the chapter about the divine goodness of God about how while we do not have the means to achieve it as humans, we do sense what it is and can attempt it. Listen to Lewis explain it in his own words. “The Divine ‘goodness’ differs from ours, but it is not sheerly different: it differs from ours not as white from black but as a perfect circle from a child’s first attempt to draw a wheel. But when the child has learned to draw, it will know that the circle it then makes is what it was trying to make from the very beginning.” Freaking rad.
Another moment in the chapter on human wickedness got me thinking for a while about how our concept of ‘good’ is influenced by our society. Lewis reminds us though we may look back on ages of humanity as barbaric and foolish, but it’s only because we have moral hindsight and never foresight. Meaning if those from the past could look forward at the way humans live now, they may have similar thoughts and opinions about us as we do them. Loved that.
Lewis is a champion with the pen. Many have already acknowledged this and written books about him. But beyond the pen, I think through his book The Problem of Painwe get to see the man a little closer. It’s Lewis thinking out loud, and even at sometimes arguing with himself. Why write an entire chapter on the issue of animal pain? Because he was thinking about it. When was the last time we thought about something like that? The issue of pain existing in a world where God is supposed to care haunts the psyche of the human existence, Lewis does not ignore this but speaks to it brilliantly. But he does not propose a fixto the problem of pain, only a deeper look. I appreciated that he acknowledged that sometimes when we read literature about topics such as pain, Hell, and heaven our minds turn to others, and how it looks for them. Lewis writes, “This chapter is not about your wife or son, nor about Nero or Judas Iscariot; it is about you and me.”
It’s easy to see why C.S. Lewis is one of the most beloved Christian authors of all time. My encouragement to you would be to pick up something written by Lewis and read it, today. And then remind yourself, Lewis doesn’t want me to worship him, Lewis wants me to worship God. It isn’t Lewis drawing us to Lewis, like so many other artists and authors. It’s Lewis drawing us nearer to God.
I’ll end with one of my favorites quotes from The Problem of Pain,one that I didn’t see my first time reading the book. Lewis says, “If all experienced God in the same way and returned to Him an identical worship, the song of Church triumphant would have no symphony, it would be like an orchestra in which all the instruments played the same note.”
Find a book by C.S. Lewis, sit down, and read it.
