C.S. Lewis has long been revered as great theologian and scholar. His works such as "Mere Christianity," "The Screwtape Letters," "The Problem of Pain," and many others are considered essential Christian literature. Mr. Lewis has compiled some of the most exhaustive and brilliant answers to almost every theological question from the Problem of Evil to Why Does God Let Bad Things Happen to Good People? Lewis is nothing short of a legend in the theological arena.
Mr. Lewis' life was one plagued with great trauma. When Clive Staples Lewis (C.S. Lewis) was but a young lad, his mother died. The poor boy was thus forced to be raised by his father. It is in this defining moment that Mr. Lewis's future was shaped. The death of his mother is echoed in one of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician's Nephew, Digory Kirke represents C.S. Lewis seeking to save his mother from her sick bed, something Mr. Lewis could not do as a child. In fact, one could argue that the Chronicles of Narnia was therapy for C.S. Lewis, who needed to face the loss and pain of losing his mother and having to grow up so quickly and abandoned his childhood. I am certain this is why The Chronicles of Narnia features children as the protagonists and principle focus of the stories. Lewis in my opinion was reconnecting with the childhood he lost.
Jack, as Lewis' friends so affection ally called Him, faced another challenged as a man. A bachelor for most his life and living with his brother in an England Estate in the country. it did not seem that marriage was to be his lot. That all turned around when a feisty American woman named Joy Davidman came to England and met with Mr. Lewis. The two immediately has a chemistry and for the first time, Clive met his match in another person, albeit the opposite sex. C.S. Lewis married Joy Davidman, who had been divorced and was in need of a husband to have a permanent visa in the UK. But in time Clive fell into deep love with Blank, only to find that she was cancer. C.S. Lewis was forced to face losing the second woman he ever loved; the first being his mother and now his very own wife.
For many years C.S. Lewis had preached "The Problem of Pain," and told others that "God doesn't particularly want us to be happy, He wants us to suffer, to suffer and grow up." (Shadowlands 1993). Well as most preachers and teachers know, Mr. Lewis ended up having to stomach his own sermon. Blank died, leaving JAck with a step son, who he took under his wing and raised; the boy being like C.S. Lewis who lost his mother; interesting how history repeats itself and in same circles. There is final line in movie adaptation of C.S. Lewis' life called "Shadowlands." Lewis played by talented Anthony Hopkins says profoundly, "When I was a boy I choose comfort, but as a man I choose suffering." C.S. Lewis articulates what most of us experience. At some point we have to choose to do the hard thing and like Jesus Christ who decided as Man (and God) to bear the cross, we must grow and suffer. Now this suffering is not self inflicted or martyrdom, but an attitude that we are willing to face the troubles of life (sufferings) and bear them for ourselves and others. For Jesus Christ was model for good suffering, He took it physically, emotionally, and spiritually; buying in exchange our freedom, faith, and fellowship with God.
I salute C.S. Lewis as masterful orator and writers for Christ. He is proof that to Christian does not mean you have to be dull or dimwitted, but rather the Almighty through faith in Christ Jesus can spark the mind and bestow such wisdom that even today it is recited and remembered! In this post there is a photo with a quote by Lewis that says, "God whispers in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is a megaphone to rouse a deaf world." I find Clive's words to be true. In those moments of good pleasure from loving someone to enjoying a good movie, God does whisper. In our conscience (mind) Jesus speaks to us, directing us and suggesting to us. But in our pain and suffering God is given a loudspeaker, for the world watches us when we suffer and are befuddled when we continue to praise and give thanks to the Lord; not showing fear, nor despairing because we know death is not the end and if death is all that can happen and has lost "its sting" then why should be cry out in despair? But even should we cry out to our Savior and cry with those who feel our pain, that is a moment of connection that will possibly lead even the most stubborn to Christ.
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| C.S. Lewis, 1898-1963 |
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