Remembering C.S. Lewis

It was on this day, 50 years ago, that Christian author C.S. Lewis died. Lewis’ writings have had an influence on me personally as well as countless others. To try to narrow his legacy down to one book is near impossible. I love his “Chronicles of Narnia”; a book entitled “The Screwtape Letters” is another of his gems.  But probably my favorite book from him is his classic “Mere Christianity”. Do yourself a favor and pick this up great book in your local Christian bookstore.

In an effort to honor Lewis’ memory, I thought I would highlight three things from C.S. Lewis’ book "Mere Christianity."  Rest assured this is just a very small sampling. One could certainly mine many different gold nuggets of truth in his book. In fact, I once wrote an academic paper on this book, and I felt like I just scratched the surface in that paper, too!

1) Sexual purity

Lewis was a bachelor for most of his life, and so I can relate to him there, as I am in that arena of life right now. Lewis writes this in a chapter called "Sexual Morality": “Chastity is the most unpopular of the Christian virtues. There is no getting away from it; the Christian rule is, ‘Either marriage, with complete faithfulness to your partner, or else total abstinence.’” It’s true. I’m reminded of Hebrews 13:4, “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer, and all the sexually immoral.”

2) Forgiveness

Another chapter in “Mere Christianity” discusses forgiveness. I’ve used this sentence from Lewis many times since I first read it: “Everyone thinks forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive.” In other words, you can go around saying how great forgiveness is, but it isn’t until someone actually hurts you, when you see how natural it would be to inwardly desire revenge, and begin to harbor a grudge. The rubber meets the road, however, when you choose instead to extend forgiveness.

3) Humility

At one point in a chapter on pride entitled “The Great Sin”, Lewis speaks of the person who is humble. He says that the humble person “will not be thinking about humility, he will not be thinking about himself at all.” I think what Lewis means here is that there is a certain joy that comes in choosing to selflessly serve others and subsequently fading into the background.

To sum up, C.S. Lewis left an enduring legacy for the truth of Biblical Christianity. May the same thing be said of all of us one day.

Kevin