Friday, May 3, 2019

BEYOND WHAT WE KNOW

As the Senses Novels series begins to come to its conclusion (I am currently writing book six,) I wanted again to write about an author that has been an inspiration to me. I think that even the people that know me best might be surprised, but C.S. Lewis has had a definite impact on my writing.

I am not referring to the C.S. Lewis of the Screwtape Letters or Narnia series, those are, in a way ‘fluff’ to the deeper C.S. Lewis. The C.S. Lewis that most affects me is the one who wrote, The Problem of Pain and A Grief Observed. For me, this the C.S. Lewis that finds the truth of Christianity, what God does and has in store for us.

While Mr. Lewis doesn’t completely abandon his sense of humor in A Grief Observed (“What do people mean when they say, “I am not afraid of God because I know He is good?” Have they never even been to the dentist?) this book explores grief and God after Joy; Mr. Lewis’ wife dies of cancer. I believe that in both these books, C.S. Lewis is trying to show us that what God considers ‘good’ may not have any Earthly counterpart.

If you have already read some of the books in my series, you may have noticed that there is more than a single level to what you are reading. This is a layer that few have uncovered. God is not indifferent to us; He just has a different perspective than we do. So long as we exist outside of Heaven, we cannot and will not know that perspective. Most of us will experience frustration, anger, and suffering in this life precisely because we are trying to fit God into our mold instead of vice-versa.

The atheist will tell you because of all the suffering in the world there is no God. I am telling you, and from what I understand Mr. Lewis to be saying, that because there is suffering in the world, we know that there is a God. It is not that He enjoys our hurt, He cannot stop us from hurting ourselves because He gave us the ability to choose.

Book five is undergoing the final stages of editing and should be out soon. This is the lead-in to book six and a lot of what I am writing in this post will become clearer as you read the final book in the series.

Take heart and know that there is a God in Heaven and that He cares.

KM

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