“Now is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It won’t last forever. We must take it or leave it.”
Although he was an Irishman, Americans view C.S. Lewis as perhaps the most famous 20th-century Christian. Born Clive Staples Lewis on November 29, 1898, he didn’t even believe in God for the first part of his life. It was not until he was 33 years old that he responded to God’s grace and trusted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. He spent the rest of his life writing over 50 books that referred to and often tried to explain the Christian faith.
His somewhat-allegorical series of children’s books, The Chronicles of Narnia, are among his most famous works, and are still so popular today that some of them have been made into movies. Millions of copies of his books are still sold every year.
C.S. Lewis – or “Jack” as he preferred to be called – was born in Belfast, Ireland. He did not have an easy life. His mother died of cancer when he was 10 years old, and his father – unable to take care of him – placed him in a boarding school. The school was strict and the teachers were unkind. Lewis hated it. God got a hold of his heart, though, and amazingly, it was at this boarding school that he first read the Bible and prayed.
One of Lewis’s favorite topics to talk about, both before and after his salvation, was the topic of JOY. His autobiography (a book of memoirs he wrote about his own life) is titled Surprised by Joy. In this book, he tells his story of how he came to believe that God really is the God of the Bible, and shares some of his fascination with short-term, earthly joys that point people ultimately to the solid, everlasting, heavenly joy that is found only in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He once wrote, “Joy is the serious business of heaven.”
Ironically, Lewis also ended up marrying a woman named Joy. He is remembered all over the world as the writer who inspired people of all ages from all generations. He died on November 22, 1963 – the same day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
We often think of our own joy, but what brings God joy? What opportunities and gifts of grace has God been giving to you so that you might understand the Gospel better and live for the things of heaven? Are you responding rightly to the grace that God has shown you?
Matthew 13:44 – “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”