This week, I finished reading a biography of C.S. Lewis written by a student and personal friend of his. The book is unique in that it offered a personal account of the life of an author I hold in high esteem. I love Lewis’ writings, both his non-fiction and fiction works. I’ve read most of his books at this point, many of them several times. Even though I have read many of his books and letters, I have never read anything by any of his friends. However, this larger than life man whose work I absolutely love, was human. C.S. Lewis, the most quoted Christian author of the 20th century, was a real person who was flawed. He sinned sometimes. His life was hard; his home was shabby despite selling millions of books worldwide, and he sometimes got depressed. It’s a weird thing to read about someone whom you hold in high esteem and discover that he is a real person. Lewis was brilliant, articulate, and his work profoundly impacted my spiritual life. He also struggled with sin and had personal problems.
The thing is that knowing Mr. Lewis was flawed doesn’t make me dislike him. I feel no need to reject his work now or denounce him. I suspect that he and I would not agree on more than a handful of ideas of theology or philosophy. Knowing about his sin and that I disagree with him over minor ideas doesn’t make me dislike him. In fact, I have found myself enjoying his work more. That might seem strange, but I believe that it makes Lewis more real to me. He was a flawed man, just like me and you and everyone else. God has spoken to me through his work and has opened my mind and heart in spectacular ways. Lewis’ imperfection means that God did the work, and that He can use imperfect people to do great things. We find this sort of example in the Bible all the time. King David stole his neighbor’s wife and had the man killed. God said David was a man after His own heart. Paul was a persecutor of the early church. Peter denied he knew Jesus. Really, everyone in the Bible that God uses is flawed. They simply submitted to God and did the work He gave them to do. God does great things with flawed people. This is the really wonderful thing about the church. God saves broken people because He loves them, not because they deserve it. He forgives those who repent because He chooses to be glorified through the showing of mercy. Mr. Lewis, the Apostle Peter, and lowly, little me all have one thing in common: God loved us despite our sin and forgives us. I doubt I will be used like any of those other men, but it’s amazing that He uses me at all, and I am grateful.
The same is true of all of us. We are not perfect. We all fall short of the perfect standard, and God loves us and redeems us anyway. Johnathan Edwards once wrote “You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary.” Paul wrote that our works don’t save us so no one can boast. You, me, C.S. Lewis, King David, Paul, Peter, and everyone else are only redeemed and made new because Jesus was punished in our place. Forgiveness is for us imperfect people and requires nothing more than that we follow Jesus. I am grateful for that because if it was up to me, I’d find a way to screw it up. I could never earn my way to Heaven. None of us can. It is a gift.
