First rant about C.S. Lewis...probably won't be the last.

The past few weeks I have had a certain passage from Mere Christianity in my head.  My book is full of marks because there is something about the way C.S. Lewis writes that makes me think of things in a different perspective.  Maybe that is the wrong way to say what I am trying to say.  I guess when I read his Christian writings I have already been aware of the message he is giving, he just explains it in a way that is so simple.  Funny, I say he puts it simple even though the first time I read Mere Christianity I had to re-read most of it a few times to really understand.  Anyway, back to what I have been thinking about lately.

'I have heard some people complain that if Jesus was God as well as man, then his sufferings and death lose all value in their eyes, 'because it must have been so easy for Him'.  Others may (very rightly) rebuke the ingratitude and ungraciousness of this objection; what staggers me is the misunderstanding it betrays.  In one sense, of course, those who make it are right.  They have even understated their own case.  The perfect submission, the perfect suffering, the perfect death were not only easier to Jesus because He was God, but were possible only because He was God.  But surely that is a very odd reason for not accepting them?  The teacher is able to form the letters for the child because the teacher is grown-up and knows how to write.  That, of course, makes it easier for the teacher; and only because it is easier for him can he help the child.  If it rejected him because 'it's easy for grown-ups' and waited to learn writing from another child who could not write itself (and so had no 'unfair' advantage), it would not get on very quickly.  If I am drowning in a rapid river, a man who still has one foot on the bank may give me a hand which saves my life.  Ought I to shout back (between my gasps) 'No, it's not fair! You have an advantage!  You're keeping one foot on the bank'?  That advantage- call it unfair- is the only reason why he can be of any use to me.  To what will you look for help if you will not look to that which is stronger than yourself?'

'To what will you look for help if you will not look to that which is stronger than yourself?'  I love that.  Lots of things race through my head when I hear that phrase.  When I can't open a jar of jelly (I admit that happens a lot...it just gets so sticky!), I get David to do it.  When I wake up at 3am sick as a dog, I call my mom to comfort me (happens a lot and will happen more now that Adam is around).  If my computer crashes, I call my dad to save the day.  I know, this sounds like a church talk, doesn't it?  I won't be offended for those that prefer to stop reading.  But here is my point. For those days when it seems harder than others, the moments when I wonder what this is really all about...faith, love, charity, hope...I often forget to look to the one thing that can make sense of it all, my Savior.  I thank C.S. Lewis for the reminder and for the Gospel that gives me chance after chance to remember.