what I'm reading: CS Lewis' letters to Arthur Greeves

I recently read - with great enjoyment! - They Stand Together, CS Lewis' letters to his friend Arthur Greeves.

I spent many a happy hour lying on the couch, cup of tea in hand, browsing the pages, drinking in the descriptions of books and weather and ideas and countryside.

It whetted my appetite to read more collections of letters: such a lovely, meandering, reflective kind of reading.

CS Lewis was 16 when he met Arthur. They lived nearby, and Lewis visited Arthur when he was sick in bed. He saw a copy of Myths of the Norsemen in Arthur's bedroom, and so their life-long friendship began:

Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one.' (The Four Loves)

The First [Friend] is the alter ego, the man who first reveals to you that you are not alone in the world by turning out (beyond hope) to share all your most secret delights. (Surprised by Joy)

When Lewis was 33 he re-read his earlier letters to Arthur. His unfavourable impression of those first letters is similar to my own. The letters get better and better, and deeper and deeper, as Lewis matures and comes to believe, first in God, and finally in Christ. He writes about that moment here:

Thanks for all you say about the letters in general. You see mine with too friendly eyes. To me, as I re-read them, the most striking thing is their egotism: sometimes in the form of priggery, intellectual and even social: often in the form of downright affectation (I seem to be posturing and showing off in every letter): and always in the form of complete absorption in ourselves. I have you to thank that it was at least 'ourselves' and not wholly 'myself'.

I can now honestly say that I envy you the much more artless letters you were writing me in those days: they all had at least the grace of humility and of affection. How ironical that the very things which I was proud of in my letters then should make the reading of them a humiliation to me now!

Don't suppose from this that I have not enjoyed the other aspect of them - the glorious memories they call up.

I think I have got over wishing for the past back again. I look at it this way. The delights of those days were given to lure us into the world of the Spirit, as sexual rapture is there to lead to offspring and family life. They were nuptial ardours. To ask that they should return, or should remain, is like wishing to prolong the honeymoon at an age when a man should rather be interested in the careers of his growing sons.

They have done their work, those days and led on to better things. All the 'homeliness' (which was your chief lesson to me) was the introduction to the Christian virtue of charity or love. ... On the other hand, all the 'strangeness' (which was my lesson to you) has turned out to be only the first step in far deeper mysteries.

How deep I am just now beginning to see: for I have just passed on from believing in God to definitely believing in Christ - in Christianity. My long night talk with Dyson and Tolkien had a good deal to do with it. (1/10/31 pp.424-5)

It's not easy to get your hands on a copy of They Stand Together, but if you manage it, and you're a CS Lewis fan, you'll enjoy their insights into his life and thought.

an interview with me

Today my interview appeared on Sola Panel. You might like to have a read. Here's how it starts:

Jean, how did you come to Christ?

It's not an exciting story, but in some ways, it's the most exciting of all! Like Timothy, I knew the Bible from infancy (2 Tim 3:15). I was brought up by faithful, godly parents who read the Bible and prayed with us, who trained us to live God's way, who talked about Jesus during the day (Deut 6:6-7), and who loved, disciplined and cared for us. They never talked down to us, and were always willing to discuss difficult doctrines like the Trinity, predestination and judgement, as well as God's love and grace. I have no idea why we prefer dramatic conversion stories to the profound blessing of being brought up in a godly home where we're faithfully taught God's word; this is just as great a miracle! ...

Read the rest at Sola Panel today.

The opening scenes of Pilgrim's Progress: Conversion and Assurance

As I've delved more deeply into Pilgrim's Progress, I've been fascinated to find that the Puritans had very different views to us about conversion and assurance. This made the opening scenes of Pilgrim's Progress hard for me to understand at first. But the more I read and reflected, the more I realised we have a lot to learn from the Puritans (and they something from us!) at this point. Here's some highlights from my article on conversion and assurance in Pilgrim's Progress today at EQUIP book club:

So I saw in my dream that the man began to run. Now he had not run far from his own door when his wife and children, perceiving it, began to cry after him to return; but the man put his fingers in his ears, and ran on crying, Life! life! eternal life! So he looked not behind him, but fled towards the middle of the plain.

If you're anything like me, the opening scenes of Pilgrim’s Progress left you with lots of questions. When exactly does Christian become, well, Christian? What’s the parchment roll he has to carry to gain entry into heaven? The Slough of Despond sounds like something from Harry Potter, but what’s it all about?

We're confused because we often think of conversion as a simple process, a human decision made in response to an alter call or a Two Ways to Live gospel presentation: “You can be 100% sure of going to heaven! Just pray this prayer!” But for the Puritans, conversion was more like a natural birth than an induction, and the pastor the mid-wife overseeing God's sovereign work in the heart. Conversion was generally a slow process, following certain stages, and it was often necessary to humbly wait on God for his gift of assurance. ...

So what can we learn from Pilgrim's Progress about conversion? We learn that conversion is sometimes simple and quick, and sometimes long and drawn-out: we shouldn’t expect every conversion to follow the same pattern. We learn that every conversion includes conviction for sin, and if modern converts don't experience guilt or fear, this may be because we fail to preach God’s holiness and judgement. We learn that it may take time to gain assurance, and that we will gain it by looking to the cross of Christ. We learn that conversion is God's work, and takes place with his timing and in his way: our job is not to pressure people into the kingdom, but to support God's work in their hearts. ...

Now it's over to you. What was your experience of becoming a Christian? Was conversion a simple process for you, or a long and complex one? Do you identify more with Bunyan, Christian and Hopeful, who had to wait for assurance, or with Christiana, who received assurance immediately? Do you think it's common for people today to experience "conviction of sin"? What is your assurance based on? Have you ever lost it, and why?

Read the rest at EQUIP book club today.

praying in hope

I am writing this with tears of joy in my eyes. My friend's mother has become a Christian! How wonderful that her faithful prayers for her mum have been answered, and we will spend eternity together rejoicing in Jesus!

Often I forget to pray for people to become Christians. Or I pray, because I know I'm supposed to, but not with any great hope or passion. Mentally, I've put them in the "too hard" basket, which is where I would have put this girl's mum.

But God's Spirit is powerful. He convicts our hard hearts of sin, and opens our blind eyes to the beauty of Jesus. How dare I question his love, power and willingness to save?

I have been given renewed hope to pray. To pray for my neighbours, my relatives, my hairdresser. To pray for the mums I chat with at school and kinder. To pray that our conversations would include many opportunities to speak about my hope in Jesus. To pray for patience to listen, courage to speak, and the words to say.

To pray, knowing that we have a great God who answers prayer, who delights to save unlikely people like you and me.

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. ... Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Colossians 4:2, 5-6