C.S. Lewis and Hope

C.S. Lewis is undoubtedly one of the most famous and influential Christian authors of all time.  I just finished reading his "Mere Christianity" last month.  This book is philosophically brilliant, clear, and persuasive.  It also contains several things that many Christians, myself included, don't agree with.


But this blog post isn't to talk about problems with C.S. Lewis.  I want to talk about the good influence his work has had on me, and it's important role in my life.


When I was little, the Voyage of the Dawn Treader was one of my favorite books.  I read the whole Narnia series lots of times, but something about Voyage fascinated me more than the others.  Never mind that for years I thought it was pronounced "Dawn Tree-der" (I was better at reading than speaking, apparently), and I alternated thinking C.S. Lewis was a man or a woman (thanks to those ambiguous initials).  But though I wasn't able to understand Lewis' work as well as an adult could, I think I understood it as he intended--in the way only a child could.


I held my breath as Lucy explored mysterious hallways in the magician's house.  I felt a dawning sense of horror when a man from the land where dreams come true told its seekers, "Fools!  Do you hear what I say? This is where dreams -dreams, do you understand, come to life, come real."   I remembered with a shudder "dreams I had had - dreams that made me afraid of going to sleep again."


But there was more than just fear and suspense.  What drew me most to his books was the sense of wonder that I felt every time I opened one up.  And it wasn't just because the stories took place in some magical world.  Fantasy stories are well and good, but there was something else.  Every book was shot through with hope from cover to cover. 


From the expectant Narnians in the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe waiting for their kings and queens, to the father in The Horse and His Boy waiting for his lost son to come home, to the long awaited end of all days in The Last Battle, the world of Narnia was a world of hope.


Treader, more than any of the others, captured my imagination in anticipation.  As the title ship traveled farther and farther east, the sea became sweeter and more beautiful.  Aslan's country was near, and I shared the excitement of the characters.  When they finally got to the distant shore, the beauty of expectation made my eyes sting.  Because even when I was little, I yearned for heaven.  I had the desire that everyone who ever lives has felt--the desire for something more, something we don't even know.  The ironic thing is, when I first read the book, I didn't realize that "I was made for another world."  What I did realize was that heaven was beautiful, and it was infinite.   I loved trying to push to the ends of infinity with my mind, and I loved coming up short every time.  And I loved reading about the far country in C.S. Lewis' books.  Not because I wished I could live in an alternate reality, but because they gave me a small taste of the mysterious, mind-blowing, wonderful beauty of heaven.


As I wrapped up Mere Christianity this week, I again caught a glimpse of this hope.  Just as with Treader, the best part was the end.  This hope, though, is something both deeper and more understandable for me.  Here, Lewis describes the hope of the "new self"--of the coming reality of losing this twisted, sin-marred personality and embracing my new, perfect identity in Christ.


I am indebted to C.S. Lewis for showing me a little glimpse of the future I look forward to.  From the time I was little, his writing has whetted my appetite for God and for the world to come.