You Will Be Eating With Immortals This Christmas

“There are no ordinary people.  You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations – these are mortal, and their life is to our as the life of a gnat.  But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit – immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.  This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn.  We must play.  But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously—no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption." C.S. Lewis.

Let's face it.  Even though Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, Christmas can also be a time when people drive us crazy.  Perhaps it is the brother who refuses to be much of a brother to you. Perhaps it is an awkward (or worse) relationship with a parent.  Maybe it is the obnoxious Uncle.

The quote above reminds us, however, that there are no ordinary people, that each person is an immortal child of God.  You will be having Christmas dinner with immortals.  It will be an immortal who gave you that...gift.  It is an immortal who will be sitting next to you in church. 

It is not always easy to see that.  My prayer is that you are able to remember that this season, when you ready to wring someone's neck.  May your celebrations this year be merry celebrations, without flippancy, superiority, or presumption.

Is Christmas A Nuisance?

"I feel exactly as you do about the horrid commercial racket they have made out of Christmas. I send no cards and give no presents except to children." C.S. Lewis, Letters To An American Lady.

I was shocked to learn that C.S. Lewis was somewhat of a Scrooge when it came to Christmas.  Specifically, in his collection of essay, God in the Dock, he decries Christmas as a nuisance.

I suppose in some sense he is right.  If Christmas is limited to its secular purposes then it is no more than a Federal holiday or worse, a commercial racket.  And truthfully, it is easy to get caught up in a “meaningless” Christmas with all the “duties” that come with Christmas between shopping for mostly needless gifts, dutifully spending time with family whom many would not like to spend time with outside of Christmas (note to my family, this certainly does not apply to you. I can think of no people I would rather spend time with.).

I hope instead this Christmas and every Christmas is one of deep meaning.  I hope you are able to reflect on the love that Jesus showed you by emptying himself and become man.  I hope find time to reflect on the hope that we have, a hope that is certain because of Jesus’ incarnation.  I hope you are able to consider the peace that Jesus offers us because of his life.  I hope you experience joy in knowing the depth of His love for you.  May this joy, peace, love, and hope of this season fill you full such that you are able to extend it to those in your life.

If we do not focus on such things, then C.S. Lewis is right… Christmas is a nuisance.

Pain Removes The Veil And Plants The Flag Of Truth

"No doubt Pain as God's megaphone is a terrible instrument: it may lead to final and unrepented rebellion. But it gives the only opportunity the bad man can have for amendment. It removes the veil; it plants the flag of truth within the fortress of a rebel soul." C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

None of us likes pain.  Pain is never something to look forward to. Unfortunately, pain is at times a "necessary evil" because of the rebelliousness of our hearts.  Sometimes the only way that God can break through the barrier that we have placed around our hearts is with a sledgehammer. In that sense, the pain that God allows (causes?) in our lives is a matter of grace.  In that sense, pain is not a necessary evil, but a necessary good.

Please do not misunderstand.  I am not saying that pain is good. We shirk from pain, and rightfully so.  Yet, we should never deny that God always uses pain for our benefit and His glory. Although that does not necessarily take the pain away, it can make it easier to bear.  We are able to endure when we take our eyes off of our current pain and focus on the promise that, "all things work together for the good."

This is beautifully summarized in Hebrews 12:11:

 "All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness."

Some reading this are in immense pain right now, be it physical or emotional. I do not mean to make light of your pain.  But rest assured that He is in the process of planting the flag of truth in your heart, and the yield will be the "peaceful fruit of righteousness"...as long as you let Him work.  As C.S. Lewis points out, we have two choices when faced with pain: (a) unrepentant rebellion, or (b) allowing the veil to be removed.   

Child of God, take courage and trust Him with your pain! Allow Him to work. It will produce great fruit.

A Lesson From C.S. Lewis On His Birthday: You Are Never Too Old To Dream

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”  C.S. Lewis

Today, November 29, 2011, would have been C.S. Lewis’s 113^th birthday. It makes me think of the quote from Bilbo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings who was 111 when he said, “Alas, eleventy-one years is far too short a time to live among such excellent and admirable hobbits. I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.”

C.S. Lewis is of course famous for his theological treatises, as well as his fairy tales. What interests me is that late in life, C.S. Lewis wrote less theological treatises and more “children’s” stories, believing that lessons are learned better when told in story form.  Beyond believing that he was right, it interests me because many of us as we age tend to move away from fairy tales and fantasies, exchanging such frivolity for the mundane and serious.  I may be fantastic in my belief, but I suspect that Lewis was more of a child when he died than when he was a young man.

This is important.  Actually it is, in my mind, of critical importance. Namely, I believe we must work hard as we age to continue to dream, continue to set goals, some of which are fantastic. Dreams are what give the soul life; wishful fantasies are important to bring joy to the mundane drudgery in which we too often live.

Dreaming can become difficult the older we get because we are afraid of disappointment. Past failures cause us to be afraid to trust… to trust ourselves or to trust that God will not disappoint.  We must learn to dream big, but to hold such dreams loosely. We need to trust God that He will always fulfill our wildest fantasies…as long as they are good for us.  In the same way that a parent must temper a child’s desires, God will not always fulfill every fantasy of ours. But just like a parent who loves her child, God will fulfill every healthy wish.  In fact, He generally will fulfill far beyond what we could have hoped and dreamed (cf. Ephesians 3:20).

So in honor of C.S. Lewis’s birthday, dust off some of those wild ideas, dream big, and set a new, fantastic goal.  Put the fear in the backseat and floor the accelerator.  Turn the radio up, and let your hair blow in the wind… no matter how old you are.

We Live...Starved For Solitude, Silence, and Privacy

“We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence, and privacy, and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship.” C.S. Lewis

Privacy is a rare commodity; solitude is virtually extinct; and most of us start getting worried when we experience lengthy silence.  It is, quite frankly, a recipe for disaster.  C. S. Lewis talks about true friendship as stemming from the deepest part of a person, from the secret place of the soul, the inner chambers of true self. We are built to live in community, yet silence, solitude and meditation are critical for spiritual growth, to examine ourselves, and as we learn of ourselves, learn to be a good friend.  It is no coincidence that time for devotions is often referred to as, “quiet time.”  God’s voice is most clearly heard in silence, solitude, and privacy.

Please understand.  There are many who read this that are lonely, and are sick of the solitude.   The pain of loneliness is a terrific burden.  As I mentioned above, we are built for community.  Yet, for most of us, we need to learn to value solitude and silence.  We need to learn to value it because it is so important to be able to meditate and to develop a true friendship with God.  And it really is about learning to value it because setting aside time for silence to be alone with God is choice.

Most of us live in a very busy world. It is dangerous. Busyness withers the soul.

In silence, solitude and privacy we find friendship…with the God of the universe.   

Your Whole Life Is A Continuum Toward Wholeness or Destruction

‎"Your life is a continuum where wholeness is on one end and destruction is on the other. Each decision you make is moving you one direction towards wholeness and peace with God, or away from Him." C. S. Lewis

I have a friend that often reminds me that, "There is no such thing as the status quo; change is inevitable.  We are either improving or going backwards." He is right, and C.S. Lewis applies this principle to our relationship with God.  There are, however,  two unfortunate things. 

First, most of us tend to like the status quo. We don't like change.  We like where we are at and are fearful of messing up a good thing.  We fail to truly understand that, in the case of the Christian, all change is good, even change that brings about pain.  Instead of being wary of change, Christians need to be people who enthusiastically embrace change.  Roosevelt's oft quoted saying, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself" is truer for the Christian than for anybody else because we have the assurance that all things, even painful things, will benefit us.

The second unfortunate thing is that being fallen, we tend to sabotage our path to wholeness.  As Paul said in Romans, "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want." (Romans 7:18-19). The key is to acknowledge our tendency, to embrace the forgiveness that is made available to us, and to repent, that is, turn back around and head toward wholeness. There is never a time when you have gone too far down the road of destruction. We can always turn back toward God. 

True wholeness is found only in Him.  When we are not moving toward Him, we are ultimately on the path of destruction.  Make a decision today to move toward wholeness, that is, to move toward Him.

Pain But Without Stain

“God, who foresaw your tribulation, has specially armed you to go through it, not without pain but without stain.”  C.S. Lewis

Like many of sentences written by C.S. Lewis, this one sentence is packed with a host of powerful truths.

First, God foresaw all of our tribulations. This is not insignificant.  Often, if you are like me, our first thoughts when the inevitable trials come are something akin to, “God has forgotten me.”  We subconsciously feel that God is supposed to protect us, and since He is not protecting us, then He has forgotten about us. 

Which brings us to the second truth, namely He has not only not forgotten about us, but He has specially prepared us to survive.   For one thing, we have a Savior who suffered immensely and was tempted in every way. For another thing, the Holy Spirit works in our lives now to comfort (Romans 8:26), to guide (John 14:26), and to intercede on our behalf (Romans 8:26).

The third truth is simply that we will suffer pain in life, but that He will bring us through it without stain and actually in better shape than we were. This truth has to be hammered home, however. Namely, we can be walking perfectly within God’s will, but we will still suffer pain.  The “prosperity gospel” will tell you otherwise. It says that if you are suffering it is because you do not have enough faith.  As far as I am concerned, that is a carefully crafted lie by the Devil himself.  No, you can be walking perfectly in God’s will, and you are still guaranteed to suffer.  God does not protect us from pain.  We will metaphorically suffer bruises, bumps, and broken bones.  The greatest comfort of all is, however, that God will take those injuries, heal them, and bring us through it stronger.

Amen, what a Savior!