In preparation for a C.S. Lewis book study which I am about
to dive into with an impressive group of intelligent ladies at the
church of my choice ( or as I should say… God’s choice of church for
me), I read through a biography of C.S. Lewis during the downtime of a
ski vacation. The book, entitled C.S. Lewis Through the Shadowlands, was written by Brian Sibley, who researched Lewis and his wife, Joy Davidman, extensively for the PBS movie Shadowlands.
Can you visualize it….me unable to contain my speed on the bunny slopes of a cross-country course, falling headlong into the deep snow bordering the well-groomed path I was supposed to stay on, my skinny skis pointing various random directions, my knees twisted into unnatural positions, my not-so-skinny back side covered in snow… I would pull the handy little soft back biography out of my pocket and peruse a page or two while waiting for my friend to dig me out of the snow…..Okay that’s not really what I mean by downtime, but the mental picture painted itself in my head and I just had to share….
This ski story is an apt metaphor for the journey of C.S. Lewis which eventually led him to Christ. I was again amazed at the details of Lewis’s life, at the way so many random events and invites worked themselves in and out and through Lewis’s own mental preoccupations and startling intellect to turn this great mind at just the right time from atheist to adamant Christ-follower. While an atheist, so many of the friends he deliberately chose and surrounded himself with were Christians, including J.R.R. Tolkien.
I am surprised at the faith which led Lewis to such an avant-garde generosity. He was not preoccupied with stuff. He was preoccupied with ideas. Lewis at his best occurs when he encounters the personal and spiritual downside of that preoccupation. He gave money away freely, and felt it was his Christian duty to do so. Sometimes, though, as he relates best in “A Grief Observed” he held on to his ideas a little too tightly. A more logical thinker never existed, and yet, Lewis’s faith was inextricably linked to loss and to joy, to feelings–his own.
I am also struck by the reality that Lewis’s life even with such a great faith was not a neat-and-tidy picture of Christian perfection. He married a divorced woman. He dealt with his own limitations socially, and in his closest relationships he could be characterized as possibly an enabler. His own words, which sold millions of copies of books, struck him down and caused him pain when faced with his own personal grief. Throughout his life, his friendships sustained him as did his love of fantasy literature. Both led him ultimately to a uncompromising belief in Christ.
-submitted by Kerri Snell
Come check out the selection of C.S. Lewis books that we offer at The Well.
Can you visualize it….me unable to contain my speed on the bunny slopes of a cross-country course, falling headlong into the deep snow bordering the well-groomed path I was supposed to stay on, my skinny skis pointing various random directions, my knees twisted into unnatural positions, my not-so-skinny back side covered in snow… I would pull the handy little soft back biography out of my pocket and peruse a page or two while waiting for my friend to dig me out of the snow…..Okay that’s not really what I mean by downtime, but the mental picture painted itself in my head and I just had to share….
This ski story is an apt metaphor for the journey of C.S. Lewis which eventually led him to Christ. I was again amazed at the details of Lewis’s life, at the way so many random events and invites worked themselves in and out and through Lewis’s own mental preoccupations and startling intellect to turn this great mind at just the right time from atheist to adamant Christ-follower. While an atheist, so many of the friends he deliberately chose and surrounded himself with were Christians, including J.R.R. Tolkien.
I am surprised at the faith which led Lewis to such an avant-garde generosity. He was not preoccupied with stuff. He was preoccupied with ideas. Lewis at his best occurs when he encounters the personal and spiritual downside of that preoccupation. He gave money away freely, and felt it was his Christian duty to do so. Sometimes, though, as he relates best in “A Grief Observed” he held on to his ideas a little too tightly. A more logical thinker never existed, and yet, Lewis’s faith was inextricably linked to loss and to joy, to feelings–his own.
I am also struck by the reality that Lewis’s life even with such a great faith was not a neat-and-tidy picture of Christian perfection. He married a divorced woman. He dealt with his own limitations socially, and in his closest relationships he could be characterized as possibly an enabler. His own words, which sold millions of copies of books, struck him down and caused him pain when faced with his own personal grief. Throughout his life, his friendships sustained him as did his love of fantasy literature. Both led him ultimately to a uncompromising belief in Christ.
-submitted by Kerri Snell
Come check out the selection of C.S. Lewis books that we offer at The Well.
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