The True Narnian: C.S. Lewis (Free Books Inside!)

“Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith” (Hebrews 13:7ESV)

“I had grown to love the works of C.S. Lewis in college” (John Piper, Desiring God)

“C.S. Lewis was the first person to make me want to be a writer… I think, perhaps, the genius of Lewis was that he made a world that was more real to me than the one I lived in; and if authors got to write the tales of Narnia, then I wanted to be an author” (Alan Jacobs, The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C.S. Lewis)

Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963) or “Jack” (or “Jacksie”, his childhood nickname) was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably the most influential Christian writer of his day. He was a Fellow and tutor in English literature at Oxford University until 1954 when he was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge University, a position held until his retirement. One of his close friends was J.R.R. Tolkien who wrote the famous book The Lord of the Rings.

He was a Christian scholar, apologist and writer who emphasis that Christian beliefs are not contrary to human reason (rather, they go beyond what reason can establish). Lewis also pointed out that an excessive emphasis on reason failed to do justice to the relationship between beliefs and the imagination on the one hand, and emotions on the other. It was, he argued, necessary to recover a more rounded understanding of the impact of belief on every aspect of human existence. Christian belief provided a framework through which every aspect of human existence could be understood. As Lewis once remarked, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

I started to follow C.S. Lewis writings and gain interest in his life because of John Piper’s recommendation after I heard his sermon entitled Lessons from an Inconsolable Soul: Learning from the Mind and Heart of C. S. Lewis (You can get his sermon note, video and audio from Desiring God website). His intellectual life and imagination are what drawn me to him. I’m a speck of dust in the ocean of sand in comparison with C.S. Lewis – even so, I want to ‘study’ him. Why would I want to follow others who are ‘weaker’ than I am; heroes who are worthy to follow are those whose life were (are) wasted for Christ and whose works are for His glory. C.S. Lewis, in my opinion, is one of those rare heroes of faith… and I want you, too, to discover his great mind, imagination, passion and above all – his love for God. He once writes, “When I love God more than I love my earthly dearest, then I shall love my earthly dearest more than I do now”.

Please note that he was not a perfect man. He was not without flaws. His doctrines are sometime strange and inaccurate (in this case, we all shall be careful, be aware of and be merciful). But if the Narnia country ever existed, King Aslan would call him: "A mighty and faithful servant – the true Narnian". He, no doubt, deserves such title!

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

April 2013 Free Books

This month, April, I’m giving away 3 different books from C.S. Lewis: 1) The Screwtape Letters, 2) The Problem of Pain, and 3) The Abolition of Man. I hope that any of these books can ignite your interest to discover C.S. Lewis and his other writings. Harper’s Magazine writes, “The point about reading C.S. Lewis is that he makes you sure, whatever you believe, that religion accepted or rejected means something extremely serious, demanding the entire energy of mind”. Besides what I offered here, I personally want to recommend his other books such as Mere Christianity and The Chronicles of Narnia (books that I would like to read in the future; Miracles, The Great Divorce and A Grief Observed). Pick and buy any book from him and you’ll never regret it!

If you want to have one of the books offered here, do these 2 things:

1. Comment below “Rich, give me one copy of [Book title] [Space]. [Your name]. May the Lord speak to me thru this book. Amen.” 
2. And E-mail me at Motivates4life@hotmail.com or send message to my Facebook your real name, phone no. and your postal address. Thank you.