Hi Everyone-
I hope you had an awesome Thanksgiving. I know I feel like I have a lot to be thankful for, such as only 1.5 weeks of school left until I'm on Christmas break.
With that in mind, I recently finished my big paper for the C.S. Lewis class I'm taking. We had to write about how we see his conception of spiritual formation as it plays out in his characters. In short, spiritual formation is how we become our truest and fullest self, as well as how we draw closer to God and become more Christ-like. Lewis' fictional books contain a lot on this topic, so it's been pretty cool to step back and map out his views so to speak. There's several interesting themes I enjoyed looking at, but one really sticks out to me in this holiday season. Basically, he shows that our beliefs, attitudes, and views of the world become our own personal realities.
Big picture, this includes heaven and hell, but for Lewis these aren't realities that represent huge shifts that don't happen until after we die. We day-by-day choose and live either heaven or hell every day of our lives. When we choose heaven, our lives become more heavenly. When we choose hell, our lives become more hellish. In The Great Divorce, he puts the end results of this pretty brilliantly, "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."
In Till We Have Faces the main character is named Orual. She is described as being physically quite "ugly", because of which, she grows to in many ways hate her "self." She becomes Queen of her nation and purposefully chooses to become a different, more man-ish person. She begins wearing a veil, eventually leaving it on at all times so that no-one knows what her face even looks like anymore. More than once, she speaks of killing Orual as she becomes this other self. She succeeds and almost destroys her true self, Orual, in favor of the Queen. She believed Orual was too ugly to be let out in public, and this reality became true as she was locked away.
In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Eustace, one of the main characters, spends the first part of the book thinking and acting in a very selfish and greedy manner. Then, while thinking these thoughts and sleeping on a dragon hoard, he turns into a dragon. Lewis writes that the selfish and greedy thoughts are dragonish, so his thoughts/beliefs become Eustace's reality.
In the last Chronicles of Narnia book, The Last Battle, Narnia is falling apart as the forces of evil are pretty much having their way. There's this very ominous looking stable door through which characters are being thrown, never to return. One of the heroes says he thinks for them it's the door to Aslan's Country (i.e. heaven). It turns out for them it is, but for others it's the way to darkness and despair.
What's this have to do with us and our spiritual formation, our becoming selves? Everything I think. As I think about people I've met over the years this idea is so true. We live self-fulfilling prophecies. The people I know who live with views of themselves, friends, and the world that are positive, become the people I know most filled with joy ... even when things suck. Conversely, people who are always griping and complaining are those I've found to be most unhappy, even when they have great jobs, friends, etc.
On the current season of "The Biggest Loser" there's this guy who drops a lot of weight every week, Bob Harper (the main trainer) thinks he's likely going to be the winner. But, he's never happy. In fact, he's always disappointed with his performance. He chooses a negative view of things. Bob has said he bets this guy will gain all his weight back. His view/beliefs that nothing he does is good enough will become his reality.
What do you think? Have you seen this in your life?
Grace and peace,
Lang
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Lang, this is my favorite post yet. ;)
ReplyDeleteLewis is wonderful. I am so glad you are reading his work!
This all goes back to my last comment. (You asked for participation didn't you?)
Our culture does not choose God's will as a rule. We have elevated personal freedom and our own desires above all else. We worship choice and absolute control over our lives and our bodies. Instead of looking to God for our needs, we go out and fill our wants on our own.
Rather than accept God's plan, we turn away from Him and tell him that we know better. We seem to be saying "Who is God to tell me what to do with my life?" It is not convenient for me or comfortable for me to follow Christ, so I simply choose to do my own will.
In God's infinite mercy, He allows us to choose hell. If we despise God and turn away from Him, how could we stand to be in His presence? So rather than force us to be with Him for eternity, He sends us to hell. Just as evil is the absence or lack of goodness and grace, hell is the absence of God.
He is a tender and compassionate God who would never force Himself upon us. We are free to reject Him.
My personal favorite piece of sacred scripture:
[Matthew 7:13-14 Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leadeth to life: and few there are that find it!