The Listening

Today in class we listened to people who knew C.S. Lewis talking about him. It was really quite incredible to hear of this man's actual manliness. To hear of how genuine he was, and how much his writing wasn't just what he wrote.

What I mean by that is: someone said, when being interviewed, that some of the best works of Lewis were simply his conversations. That he conversed in such a way that is ought to have been remembered, but now has just turned into mist like everyone else's. This is quite a loss. However, you also see another side to this. Lewis constantly thought in his analyzing way, constantly challenging things. One of his acquaintances said that he dared not joke around Lewis because he would take it so seriously. He would say things like, "really? hmmm, is that how you feel about it? Of course that could not be true if you take this into account..."

In that way, you could say that Lewis was almost plagued by his mind, an odd thought indeed. Because of this, there are many things that Lewis simply would be inept at. We must bear this in mind when we read and speak of his, that he is only human. He was indeed a tool, and his incredible works are still being used by the masses, but he was human. There are many things that I am sure I could do better then Lewis (obviously writing or speaking not among them). There are many things I am sure that anyone reading this blog could do better then Lewis. So why did Lewis have such an impact?

C.S. Lewis gave his life to God when he was 31 (if my memory serves), but he gave it fully. Paul became a Christian only later in his life, after an awakening. The disciples simply followed this rabbi who called himself Jesus after living the beginnings of their lives completely Jewish. Oddly enough, it seems that many of the greatest Christians are people who came into the faith later, why is this? How can this be?

I propose an answer to the question, and that is this: often, people who convert to Christianity later in their life live a fiery hot life for Christ. As opposed to those who grew up in the faith, it is all they know, they never questioned it, or made their faith their own. Lewis had only one faith, and that faith was his own. When he became a Christian, there was no more doubt in his mind, he was not simply following what his parents had told him, or the church he grew up in. He came to his faith on his own. And in this he was able to be fiery hot, and God used him.

Lewis sacrificed much for the Lord, how much do we, who were brought up in the faith, sacrifice? Perhaps we ought to make our faith our own, perhaps then we will not be luke-warm. Perhaps then our gifts from the Lord with be utilized. Only when we are humble to the fullest will we be able to do great things, only when we surrender, and accept suffering.

In Christ,

Ben