“There is but
one good; that is God. Everything else is good when it looks to Him and bad
when it turns from Him.”
“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done." All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. Those who knock it is opened.”
“Good beats upon the damned incessantly as sound waves beat on the ears of the deaf, but they cannot receive it. Their fists are clenched, their teeth are clenched, their eyes fast shut. First they will not, in the end they cannot, open their hands for gifts, or their mouth for food, or their eyes to see.”
At my ripe 55 years of age, I have heard MANY quotes from C.S. Lewis, I've heard countless sermons that have referred either to his works or his life...however, I am ashamed to say that I haven't personally read any of his writings...I am about to correct that error. This past Saturday, Lisa and I decided to take a day and go to the Minnesota State Fair. We had a few errands to run before heading out of town, so we didn't hit the road until some time around noon. We stopped for coffee and enjoyed our 2 1/2 hour trip talking, laughing and listening to music. Unfortunately our plans went terribly awry in that we spent 2 hours trying to find a place to park in several different Park n Rides...I guess we should have thought about it being the last weekend of the Fair and that everyone else from the surrounding states also thought it would be a wonderful idea to attend the Fair!
After coming
up fruitless in our 2 hour parking search, we were tired of driving around and
getting more than a little frustrated, I suggested we abandon the Fair and
just go get some supper in the Mall of America. After we ate and did a little
shopping, we ended up at Barnes and Noble (another one of our favorite places
to visit). I was perusing the men's devotionals and C.S. Lewis's Mere
Christianity caught my eye. I read the dust jacket of that and about 6 books of
his and thought...'Why haven't I ever read any of his books?' I didn't have an
answer to that question...but I DID hear God challenge me slightly...'Here's an
author that is both challenging spiritually AND intellectual...' Ouch...you
see, men's devotionals have been hit and miss with me...many that I have tried
reading I've either felt were aimed at spiritually young men or I simply
couldn't connect with the author's style of writing and so I end up setting the
study aside.
SO...I
purchased a 10 book collection of C.S. Lewis's writings. I'm excited to read
again.
