C.s._lewis A Journey To Christ.docx

Running Head: C.S. LEWIS: A JOURNEY TO CHRIST 1

C.S. Lewis: A Journey to Christ Amy C Emerson Colorado Christian University

C.S. LEWIS: A JOURNEY TO CHRIST

2 Summary

In the vast plethora of Christian literature, a name which always stands out is that of C.S. Lewis. However, C.S. Lewis was not a lifelong Christian, and even spent some time in bitterness before the Lord started to pull away at the scales of his heart. Though his pilgrimage to Christ was introspectively long and burdensome, he emerged from the encounter spiritually cultivated. His journey and encounters with God left him willing and able to provide words and insights of unparalleled richness to his brothers and sisters in Christ. Until he gave his life to Christ wholly, C.S. Lewis was a man who struggle with spiritual discomfort or spiritual reluctance. Though he was an atheist most of his life, in the early 1920’s Lewis found himself admitting that the belief in God is probable, however still maintained that it was “ludicrous’ and did not fit his perception of life, nor did it align with his experiences (McArther, 2013, pg134). Yet in the 1930’s, Lewis’s writings show the beginning of his quest for a deeper meaning to life. Finally, in what Lewis calls the “Trinity Term of 1929” he could no longer deny the overwhelming evidence that pointed to the existence of God, nor could he ignore God’s pounding in his hearts door. He begrudgingly prayed admittance to God. Though God had formally introduced Himself to Lewis, whether it be early 1929 or actually be early 1930, is still up for debate, as Mr. Lewis can sometimes be confused by dates, it is the overall consensus that it took over a year for Lewis to cross over from theism to a true relationship with Christ. The reluctance lay in the fact that Lewis, though logical and realistic in thought, placed great emphasis on the imagination. With God, he still had not found the link between reason and ingenuity. C.S. Lewis was a man who struggled to find the depth and true meaning of things, while still holding tightly to the imagination and the possibilities it could bring forth. To him, the

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universe still demanded answers, and God had yet to provide them. In September of 1931, Lewis began a friendship with author J.R.R Tolkien, a friendship which played a critical role his development of thought towards God (McGrath, 2013, pg148). It was through the mentoring of Tolkien where Lewis learned what the big picture of Christianity really looked like, and providing him the answer that had plagued him since he was young: how could only Christianity be true, and everything else be false? (McGrath, 2013, pg 150). Tolkien dispensed to him the keys of freedom by showing him that, where other religions supplied partial insights and fractional truths, it is Christianity which provides the full and unblemished anecdote. Furthermore, where Lewis once feared belief in God, and the threat God placed on his creativity, he now saw a God Who did not associate with suppression, and called out for deep thought which could only come from imagination. C.S. Lewis was a man who was not easily convinced. Though he was finally able to see the imaginative appeal to Christianity (McGrath, 2013, 151), Lewis, a deeply thoughtful individual, still needed time to explore this newfound knowledge. His final step of the journey occurred during a trip to a zoo. Again, it is not certain if this trip occurred several days or several months after his conversation with Tolkien. Whatever the timeline, Lewis’s lack of immediacy shows the extreme value he placed on the conversion, as it required a passage of inquisition. Yet his conversion was somewhat anticlimactic; he simply says that he left on his trip not believing that Jesus was the Son of God, and when he arrived at the destination, he did (McGrath, 2013, 152). Though not dramatic to the observer, it is the day which marks the official conversion of a man who provided the world with some of the greatest writing in Christian literature. As someone who grew up reading and admiring C.S. Lewis, I find the knowledge of his personal struggles with Christianity quite startling. While I knew that he was a former atheist, I

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had no recollection of his inflexibility to simply embrace Jesus. The very idea that it took over a year after admitting there is a God to embrace Christ as his Savior informs me of his depth and thoughtfulness. I find myself admiring Mr. Lewis for the very fact that he does not take matters lightly, rather he grievously inquires of them as a detective studies a significant crime scene in great detail. His need to explore and ponder deeply reveals him to be far more personal and relatable as well, for he understands the struggles of the human mind and does not hold back this empathy in his writing. I now see C.S. Lewis as someone who is to be heard on a personal level. I believe one of the greatest honors we can give him is to acknowledge his journey, and approach his writings without intimidation, rather with thoughtfulness and mindfulness. In conclusion, C.S. Lewis is someone whom Christians owe a great debt. He is a man who took his enduring journey from atheism, to theism, and finally to a deeply personal relationship with Christ, and transcended it to valuable information for his audience. Engaging and informative, Lewis has the ability to make sense of reality, and provide his audience with words which carry immense weight towards their lives as Christians. God gave C.S. Lewis a purpose for his struggle, and Lewis left a legacy of prominence, making him a hero in his own right.

C.S. LEWIS: A JOURNEY TO CHRIST

5 References

McGrath, A. (2013). C.S. Lewis: A life. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.