The Impact of C.S. Lewis On My Life

We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade, the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him. He walks everywhere incognito. And the incognito is not always hard to penetrate. The real labour is to remember, to attend. In fact, to come awake. Still more, to
remain awake. -C.S. Lewis


I laid in bed as my mom told me that she had a new book she wanted to read me. As an eight year old boy I was not excited about reading for myself, but was okay with my mom reading to me (it at least let me stay up a little bit longer). It started simple enough...Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. Little did I know that this book would turn out to be one in a series of seven that my mom read to me over the next year.

The Chronicles of Narnia was my introduction to Clive Staples Lewis, an English professor from England who was one of the greatest Christian minds in the last century. Over the last
twenty-two years I have read most of what Lewis has written and I can say without a doubt he has had the greatest impact on me over any other author I have read. He sees God everywhere; in places that the average person does not see Him, but where He nevertheless dwells.

The thing that I love about Lewis is his ability to explain and defend the Christian faith in a way that children can understand and theologians stand in silence. I have tried to model this element of his life in my own. I want to be the kind of the student of the Word that can sit down with little kids and explain the great Biblical truths that can change their life, and also be able to sit down with theologians and discuss the complexities of Christianity.

I so believe in his insight and wisdom that our student ministry is about to begin our second study on the Chronicles of Narnia on Wednesday nights. It is a great tool to be able to have these beautiful illustrations of God's beautiful truths.

I would encourage anyone and everyone to read the writings of C.S. Lewis. I trust that you will be moved and challenged much like I have been. Who knew that a story about a talking Lion would mean so much to a eight years old's life.