“Let us always meet each other with a smile. For a smile is the beginning of love.” ~Mother Teresa~ Continue Reading…
Archives For C. S. Lewis
“I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death. I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and to help others to do the same.” ~C. S. Lewis~
Some of my favorite and most vibrant Christians fixed their eyes on Heaven, set out to pursuit it, and never looked back. Let’s soak in their influence and learn to love Heaven with them! Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing my top five picks from their books. Coming in at number 4 is The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis.
The Screwtape Letters is a series of letters from a master tempter named Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood. Screwtape shares his advice, garnered from centuries of tempting humans, on how Wormwood can either keep his “patient” from becoming a Christian or steal his joy and keep him far from Christ once he does.
Screwtape inhabits a topsy-turvy world, where he calls God the Enemy and refers to Satan as Our Father Below. But this unique viewpoint makes The Screwtape Letters one of C. S. Lewis’s most creative and powerful works. Looking at Christians from the tempter’s point of view opened my eyes to my own sins, hypocrisies, and compromises.
Consider these gems of wisdom from Screwtape . . .
“Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”
“It is funny how mortals always picture us as putting things into their minds: in reality our best work is done by keeping things out.”
“A woman means by Unselfishness chiefly taking trouble for others; a man means not giving trouble to others…thus, while the woman thinks of doing good offices and the man of respecting other people’s rights, each sex, without any obvious unreason, can and does regard the other as radically selfish.”
“All you then have to do is keep out of his mind the question ‘If I, being what I am, can consider that I am in some sense a Christian, why should the different vices of those people in the next pew prove that their religion is mere hypocrisy and convention?’”
And I love Screwtape’s description of a Christian’s first moments in Heaven. Here’s a little taste of that section . . .
“He had no faintest conception till that very hour of how they [heavenly beings] would look, and even doubted their existence. But when he saw them he knew that he had always known them and realized what part each one of them had played at many an hour in his life when he had supposed himself alone, so that now he could say to them, one by one, not ‘Who are you?’ but ‘So it was you all the time.’
All that they were and said at this meeting woke memories. The dim consciousness of friends about him which had haunted his solitudes from infancy was now at last explained; that central music in every pure experience which had always just evaded memory was now at last recovered. He saw not only Them; he saw Him [Jesus]. This animal, this thing begotten in a bed, could look on Him. What is blinding, suffocating fire to you is now cool light to him, is clarity itself, and wears the form of a man . . .”
Are you beginning to see why The Screwtape Letters is one of my students’ favorite books? You can purchase your own special illustrated copy for $3.99 at this link.
What about you, friends?
- Do you think about Heaven much?
- Are you curious to know how our lives will be there?
- Is there someone special you look forward to reuniting with one day?
- What’s your favorite verse about Heaven?
- What non-fiction book or novel changed your perspective on spiritual journey in a big way?
Please know that, though I may not respond right away, I eventually visit the blogs of all who leave comments. And whenever I see your names here, I always, always pray for you! Blessings!
Read about my number 5 pick, Safely Home here.
This week I’m linking up with Monday Musings, Hear It on Sunday, Soli Deo Gloria, The Better Mom, Covered in Grace, Rachelwojo, Modest Mondays, GraceLaced Mondays, Raising Arrows, A Mama’s Story, Teach Me Tuesdays, Gratituesdays, Just Write, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Tell Me About It Tuesday, Tuesdays Unwrapped, Teaching What Is Good, Mom’s Library, Tuesday Tips, What I Learned This Week, Heart and Home, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Raising Homemakers, Deep Roots at Home, God Bumps, Wednesday Walkabout, Think Outside the Blog, Word-filled Wednesday, Thankful Homemaker, Wisdom Wednesday, Wholehearted Home Wednesdays, Thursday Favorite Things,Thriving Thursday, Hearts for Home, Legacy Leaver, Thoughtful Thursday, Life in the Comments, Almost Friday Thursday Blog Hop, Favorite Things, Faith-filled Friday, Friday @Homemaker by Choice, Just for Fun Friday, Fellowship Friday, Womanhood with Purpose, Weekend Whatever, and Heart Reflected.
When tragedy blindsides us, we cry out, “Why?” Our faith wavers. We beg for some explanation of the purpose behind life’s pain. Don’t let well-meaning friends or life’s busy-ness silence those doubts and questions. Take time to seek the answers from God. He’s equipped some of His most faithful servants to help us make sense of suffering and cope with tragedy. Here’s a list of their books. May they give you hope.
On Asking God Why: And Other Reflections on Trusting God in a Twisted World by Elisabeth Elliot. Elisabeth Elliot’s first husband was martyred on the mission field during their newlywed years. She lived many years as a single mother. Her second husband died after a painful battle with cancer. Her book is a collection of meditations that confront the many issues we must deal with in our daily lives.
If God Is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil by Randy Alcorn. Suffering and evil beg questions about God. Why would an all-good and all-powerful God create a world full of evil and suffering? How can there be a God if suffering and evil exist? Best-selling author Randy Alcorn challenges the logic of disbelief, and brings a fresh, realistic, and thoroughly biblical insight to the issues these important questions raise.
When God Weeps by Joni Eareckson Tada. After more than thirty years in a wheelchair, Joni Eareckson Tada’s intimate experience with suffering gives her a special understanding of God’s intentions for us in our pain. In When God Weeps, she and lifelong friend Steven Estes probe beyond glib answers that fail us in our time of deepest need.
The Problem of Pain by C. S. Lewis. Why must humanity suffer? In this elegant and thoughtful work, C. S. Lewis questions the pain and suffering that occur everyday and how this contrasts with the notion of a God that is both omnipotent and good. An answer to this critical theological problem is found within these pages.
One Minute After You Die by Erwin Lutzer. This book opens a window on eternity with a simple and moving explanation of what the Bible teaches about death. Lutzer brings a biblical and pastoral perspective to such issues as: channeling, reincarnation, the justice of eternal punishment, the death of a child, trusting in God’s providence, and preparing for your own final moment.
This week I’m linking up with Monday Musings, Hear It on Sunday, Soli Deo Gloria, The Better Mom, Covered in Grace,Rachelwojo, Modest Mondays, Raising Arrows, A Mama’s Story, Teach Me Tuesdays, Gratituesdays, Just Write, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Tuesdays Unwrapped, Tuesday Tips, What I Learned This Week, Heart and Home, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Word-filled Wednesday, Thankful Homemaker, Wholehearted Home Wednesdays, Little Things Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Hearts for Home, Legacy Leaver, Favorite Things, Faith-filled Friday, Womanhood with Purpose, Weekend Whatever, Your Sunday Best, The Sunday Community, Heart Reflected, and Fresh-brewed Sundays.
Did you ever wonder if God plays favorites? Have you looked around at the blessings others received and worried that God had forgotten you? Click on the video below to hear some encouraging words concerning “God’s favorites.”
Here’s the whole story from John 11:
6 “So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go back to Judea.’
17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. 21 ‘Lord,’ Martha said to Jesus, ‘if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.’
23 Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’
24 Martha answered, ‘I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’
25 Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’
27 ‘Yes, Lord,’ she replied, ‘I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.’
28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. ‘The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.’ 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him.
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.
So the next time you worry that God has been playing favorites or that God has forgotten you, open your Bible to John 11—or pop back over and re-watch this video!
Follow this link for “Does God play favorites–part II?“
This week, I’m linking up with friends at Playdates with God, Women Living Well, Thought-provoking Thursday, Thankful Thursday, Imperfect Prose, and Good Morning Girls.
“A man can no more diminish God’s glory
by refusing to worship Him
than a lunatic can put out the sun
by scribbling the word ‘darkness’
on the walls of his cell.”
~C. S. Lewis~
“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” ~C. S. Lewis~
“In everyone’s life, at some time, the inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner fire.” ~Albert Schweitzer~
C. S. Lewis
Corrie ten Boom with Billy Graham
Darlene Deibler Rose
Jim Elliot
J. R. R. Tolkien
Elisabeth Elliot
Amy Carmichael
Who would you add to this list?
Of all powers He forgives most, but He condones least; He is pleased with little, but demands all.
C. S. Lewis, novelist, essayist, academic, Christian apologist
