C. S. Lewis: An Adventure in Faith
This is an electronic version of our Glimpses for Kids children's worship bulletin inserts.
These are designed to present Christian biographies for Children's church, educational or worship ministries. A Garden Full of Adventure
Jack jumped out from behind the hedge. "You
can't catch me, Warnie," he yelled, as he took off running as fast as
he could.
 C.
S. ("Jack") Lewis
"Gotcha!" Warnie exclaimed as he grabbed Jack and tackled him to the
ground in the garden behind their house. Warnie was three years older
than his brother and much stronger. But Jack was feisty. He wriggled from
Warnie's grasp and took off running again.
By the time Warnie rounded the corner, Jack was nowhere in sight. He
looked in all of Jack's usual hiding places, but could not find him. Finally,
he lay down to rest under the old apple tree. It was the giggling from
above that told him his little brother now had a new hiding place.
"Let's play something new," called Warnie. "I just saw a band of pirates
camping behind the blackberry bushes! Let's get 'em!" Jack nearly flew
down from the tree in anticipation of catching the imaginary pirates with
his brother. There was always a new adventure to be found in the garden.
A New Kind of Adventure
Memories of those happy times with Warnie warmed Jack's heart after Warnie
left for boarding school. One afternoon, seven-year-old Clive Staples
Lewis, who preferred the nickname Jack, stood alone trying to decide what
to read. It was a rainy, dismal day, and heavy fog blanketed the Irish
hills, keeping him inside yet again. Jack's problem was that he had too
many choices. There were books in the study, books in the dining room,
books in the cloakroom and in the bedrooms. In the attic, books were piled
as high as Jack's shoulders, causing his indecision. How could he choose
between the adventure of Gulliver's Travels and playing detective with
Sherlock Holmes?
Warnie's absence may have left Jack feeling lonesome, but his imagination
continued to blossom. When he wasn't getting lost between the pages of
great books, Jack was writing and illustrating his own stories. They were
full of talking animals and knights in shining armor. His imaginary world
was so exciting, the real world could not compete.
Disappointment with God
Three years after Warnie went away to school, Jack's mother became sick
with cancer. Jack prayed as he had never prayed before that God would
spare his mother's life.
"Dear God, please don't let my mother die! We love her so much and need
her with us. I know she's very sick, but my Sunday school teacher says
that you can do anything. I'm sure you can make Mama better. Please, God!"
 But
God did not answer this prayer the way Jack wanted. Not only did his beloved
mother die, but his father Albert never recovered from her death. In his
anguish, Albert spent little time with his grieving sons. Jack and Warnie's
happy family life was changed forever. Jack decided that the God who allowed
his mother to die was either cruel or uncaring. Either way, he didn't
want anything to do with such a God. He decided to become an atheist.
The Influence of Friends
In 1917, Jack Lewis became a student at Oxford. He thrived in this atmosphere
of learning and debate and continued reading anything he could get his
hands on. Academic life was for him! Eventually, he came across the writings
of Christian authors George MacDonald and G. K. Chesterton. Their writings
began Jack's spiritual awakening. His Christian friends, like Owen Barfield,
challenged Jack's atheism.
"Jack, how can you still believe that God doesn't exist?" Owen asked.
"Chesterton's books say the world only makes sense if you believe God
created it. Even our conscience points to a creator. We would have no
sense of right and wrong if we just evolved."
"Owen, I understand Chesterton's logic, but I can't accept the existence
of a God who allows us to suffer. How can He be good or loving if He takes
people from us and hurts us for no reason?"
"But Jack, you can't say He does things for no reason. You have to say
that you don't know what His reasons are. Just because you don't know
the reason doesn't mean God doesn't have a reason for what He does."
 Jack's
conversations with Owen gave him a lot to consider. He eventually decided
that his author friends were right, and he could resist God no longer.
Finally, in 1931, C. S. Lewis became a Christian.
Jack's new faith immediately affected his life. Already an accomplished
author, Jack used his writing skills to present the case for Christianity
to his atheist friends. He also used the creativity and imagination he
had developed as a child to create fascinating stories that would teach
spiritual truth to people of all ages.
Find out how C. S. Lewis began to write the Chronicles
of Narnia in part 2 of this "Glimpses for Kids" children's worship
bulletin insert.
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