October 27, 2009 • 12:14 pm
“The moment you have a self at all, there is a possibility of putting yourself first—wanting to be the centre—wanting to be God, in fact. That was the sin of Satan: and that was the sin he taught the human race. Some people think the fall of man had something to do with sex, but that is a mistake. (The story in the Book of Genesis rather suggests that some corruption in our sexual nature followed the fall and was its result, not its cause.) What Satan put into the heads of our remote ancestors was the idea that they could ‘be like gods’—could set up on their own as if they had created themselves—be their own masters—invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside God, apart from God. And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history—money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery—the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.
The reason why it can never succeed is this. God made us: invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.”
—C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (HarperOne, 1980), pp. 49–50.
(HT: Tony Reinke)
Filed under: CS Lewis, Communion with God, God centredness, The Bible, The Christian Life
The deepest longing of the human heart is to know and enjoy the glory of God. We were made for this. “Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth. . . whom I created for my glory,” says the Lord (Isaiah 43:6-7
). … We were made to know and treasure the glory of God above all things; and when we trade that treasure for images, everything is disordered. The sun of God’s glory was made to shine at the center of the solar system of our soul. And when it does, all the planets of our life are held in their proper orbit. But when the sun is displaced, everything flies apart. The healing of the soul begins by restoring the glory of God to its flaming, all-attracting place at the center. ~ John Piper, Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God
Fully to enjoy is to glorify. In commanding us to glorify Him, God is inviting us to enjoy Him. ~ C.S. Lewis, The Joyful Christian
(HT: Rick Ianniello)
Filed under: CS Lewis, Christ-centred, Discipleship, God's Glory, John Piper, Knowing God, Love for God, The Bible, The Christian Life, The glory of Christ, Worship
April 17, 2009 • 12:48 pm
The BBC has produced an excellent documentary about Michael Ward’s discovery of a ’secret code’ hidden beneath the narrative of the Narnia Chronicles by CS Lewis. Ward’s book is called, Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C. S. Lewis. The documentary is a fascinating story about Lewis’ love and expertise of medieval cosmology and Ward’s tying this to the ultimate reason behind the Chronicles. The result is a God-glorifying testimony to the order and grandeur of creation. Lewis’ aim! There are some great interviews at the end with Christian scientists, and a wonderful conclusion centred on the resurrection of Jesus as the beginning of the new creation.
You can watch the BBC program here on BBCi, available for one week.
Filed under: Books, CS Lewis, Creation, God's Glory, Jesus Christ, Redemption, Resurrection of Christ, The Bible, The Cross
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