C.S. Lewis’ “The Great Divorce” A Must Read
Over the holidays I reread C. S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce, a must read for everyone. The insights he gives should motivate anyone who has an evangelistic spirit!
The plot: Through an dream, Lewis takes his readers on a bus trip through hell to the plain regions where the ghost like creatures from hell meet face to face with the solid people from Heaven. Lewis unveils all the excuses, hurdles, alibis, etc. people use for not getting into heaven. Can those in heaven persuade their loved ones in hell to change locations or is there truly a great divide, a great divorce, a great chasm between the two?
What stuck out to me this time as I read through it is how heaven and hell overlap while we are on the earth. Lewis shares how with the spiritual birth here on earth is the beginning of an eternal life with Christ and when one is in heaven, they will look back on their earthly experience only through righteous eyes. On the other hand, those who reject Jesus on earth, their experience on earth will be as close as they ever get to heaven, and will look at their earthly journey as negative.
An evangelist has to have the point of view of “eternal” perspective in everything he/she does. Every decision is an eternal decision to an evangelist. The continual journey in this new spiritual life experience is not his major concern as he focuses on the next person who needs to be born again, spiritually born.
The shepherd, teacher, prophet, and apostle can learn from this perspective that every thing they do also has eternal ramifications as the new lamb, the new born in the spirit begins his/her eternal walk in Jesus, giving each a new perspective in the meaning of sanctification, the growing into the likeness in Christ.
If we look at each of the five fold from an eternal perspective, we get a different, more meaningful insight.