On this day 1963 Clive Staples Lewis breathed his last breath in this world and traveled “farther up and farther in” to the presence of the Almighty. Since the time of the Reformation the Church of England has not officially canonized saints, but if they did, Lewis would most definitely be one! Yet Lewis is difficult to categorize. Was he a lay theologian, a Christian philosopher, or an academician with a spiritual mission? In truth, he was all three in a genre all his own. Clive Staples Lewis was born in 1898 and lived through the major paroxysms of the twentiethcentury: two world wars and the great Depression. He lived in an era stretching from the discovery of powered flight to the space age. He died in 1963.
Lewis was baptized into the Church of Ireland but renounced his faith at fifteen as a tiresome duty without any personal meaning. He later described himself as “very angry with God for not existing” and “equally angry with him for creating a world.” However, at the age of 32, while a professor at Oxford, he was converted to Christianity. His conversion was largely due to his group of friends in academia, including J. R. R. Tolkien, who authored Lord of the Rings. Schooled in classical literature, he himself produced rich apologetics and spiritual allegories that are classics of Christian literature. Examples include Mere Christianity and the Chronicles of Narnia. Lewis’s war-time radio messages on the hope found in Christ inspired and steadied the United Kingdom during the horrors of the blitz.
Every seeker of truth, regardless of spiritual inclination,should spend time reviewing CS Lewis’s profound yet relatable writing. He or she should be mindful of where seeking God will lead. As Lewis said, “Look for Christ and you will find him, and with him, everything else.”
Collect (Prayer) of the Day
Almighty God, our Father, the Lord and giver of life. On this day we give thanks for the life and witness of your faithfully departed servant Clive Staples Lewis. Grant, we pray, that you would draw us to yourself, and help us to use our minds and hearts for your glory. Through Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit. One God, now and forever. Amen.
Bible Reading
Romans 12:1-8 (ESV)
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
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