Friday, January 20, 2012

Book Review: The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis strikes again.  I'm always bowled over by his way of rearranging ideas I've held for years and putting them in a new light.  I wish I could write (or even speak) with his bold creativity and unashamed zeal for scriptural truths.  In the book The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses we read the transcripts of several speeches Lewis gave to various audiences.  Some of these addresses I found more engaging than others, though I think them all worth reading.  If for no other reason than they will stretch your mind from what otherwise may be a lax position.

The first address in the book, The Weight of Glory discusses the idea of the christian's reward in heaven and the glory that awaits us.  Lewis does not envision robes and harps and the usual fare of heaven.  Rather he speaks of a glory brought about by the very acknowledgment of God upon men.  My favorite section of this essay is the one in which Lewis reveals the heart of man to desire heaven.  "We cannot tell it because it is a desire for something that has never actually appeared in our experience.  We cannot hide it because our experience is constantly suggesting is, and we betray ourselves like lovers at the mention of a name."

Another address that tugged at my conscience was the one entitled On Forgiveness.  In it Lewis discusses the difference between being excused for something and being forgiven.  While often in our prayers we ask for forgiveness, what we are really asking for is to be excused from whatever it was we've done.  We want the proverbial pat on the hand and to hear God say "Oh it's alright, you couldn't help what you did, don't worry about it."  Here Lewis says, "Real forgiveness means looking steadily at the sin, the sin that is left over without any excuse, after all allowances have been made, and seeing it in all its horror, dirt, meanness, and malice, and nevertheless being wholly reconciled to the man who has done it.  That, and only that, is forgiveness, and that we can always have from God if we ask for it."  

Honestly I don't think I can do justice to Lewis' writings, because to try to condense the content of this book would be in vain.  I would highly recommend this little book, and while it is not a terribly long one, it is one worth mulling over at a slow pace.  

A few other quotes from the book:

"Almost our whole education has been directed to silencing this shy, persistent, inner voice; almost all our modern philosophies have been devised to convince us that the good of man is to be found on this earth."

"For glory means good report with God, acceptance by God, response, acknowledgment, and welcome into the heart of things.  The door on which we have been knocking all our lives will open at last."


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