This week I want to talk about our Longing for Joy, something that isn’t selfish in the bad sense, but something God made us for. In fact, some great theologians said in the Westminster Shorter Catechism, written nearly 400 years ago, “Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” There is biblical support for that bold declaration.
No writer has had greater impact on me than C. S. Lewis. I find both his fiction and nonfiction to be penetrating and life-shaping.
And when it comes to the subject of the longings of our heart, no one said it better than Lewis.
Books and bookstores have had an enormous influence on my own life. I came to Christ as a teenager, at Powell Valley Covenant Church in Gresham, less than a mile from where I live now. My first youth pastor, Paul Siwick, did me a huge favor—he gave me a key to his office, so I could go in any time and read his books, hundreds of them. I read everything I could get my hands on.
I think of how God had his hand on my life long before I was in high school, when I read for the first time a book that really captivated me...the Bible. That Book came alive to me when I met the Author, who soon became my best friend. Can't wait for all the adventures He has awaiting us, His children, in the new universe.
I have only one Lord, but many spiritual heroes. I'd love to hear about some of yours. Here are seven of mine.
A couple of years ago I had the privilege of speaking at the Desiring God National Conference with John Piper, Jerry Bridges, and John MacArthur. But perhaps the greatest privilege was being with the other speaker, Dr. Helen Roseveare, missionary to the Congo. (Dr. Roseveare's biography is in Noel Piper's book Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God, which you can read online.) I recently ran across this story from Helen:Do you love the smell of an old book? Just finished a delightful rereading Out of the Silent Planet, Space Trilogy Series, the first C. S. Lewis fiction I read when I was a new teenage Christian in 1970 (The Problem of Pain was my first Lewis nonfiction). It’s the first of his space trilogy, and I’m about to read again Perelandra (alternative Brit title: Voyage to Venus).
Check out this trailer for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which will be released on December 10. What do you think of the trailer?
Today's blog is a combination of several short answers to questions I've responded to lately. Some are questions I've received on my Facebook page. Though I can't possibly respond to every question that comes in, I do read each and every comment and question with interest and appreciation. I just wish I could reply to more of them. Maybe on the New Earth! (If you're interested in reading other questions and answers, the EPM website has many more Q & As, articles, and resources.)
Those who have read my books know that all of them have been touched in one way or another by C.S. Lewis, because ultimately the books we write are the overflow of the books we’ve read. I look forward to meeting Jack Lewis, and exploring the New Earth, where there will be time for us all to walk and talk, with new friends who are also old friends, in the joyful presence of King Jesus.
I'm the author of over 40 books and the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries. I love Jesus, my wife Nanci, and our daughters, sons and five grandsons!
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