If you’ve worshiped with us for the past month or so, then you know that this Advent we’ve been using C. S. Lewis’ little book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to frame our messages. Since we’ve been talking so much about C. S. Lewis’ book, I thought it would be good for us to use some of our time tonight to take a closer look at Lewis’ life, this amazing life that God has used to produce not only this wonderful little children’s book, but so many others, writings that have led so many lost sheep home.
Clives Staples Lewis, or “Jack” as he preferred to be called, was born on November 29, 1898 in Belfast, Ireland. He died on November 22, 1963, the same day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Lewis’ father, Albert, was a successful attorney, but apparently lacked the ability to communicate emotion. He was a very stiff, unloving father. His mother, Florence, though, was almost the very opposite. She was very cheerful and loving and nurturing.
Jack and his older brother, Warnie, grew up in a home that he described as a place that was literally bursting with books, bookshelves everywhere. (Sounds like a great place to me!) It was in this book-filled home that Jack, who quickly became an avid reader, first encountered the Arthurian legends, medieval romances, Norse mythology, and classic children’s books, all of which God used to inspire his development as an author.
Lewis writes about his home saying, “I am the product of long corridors, empty sunlit rooms, indoor silences, and attics explored in solitude…” By the way, in one of those rooms was an old wardrobe where Jack and Warnie played and created an imaginary world.
Well, all this changed when, three months before he turned 10 Jack’s mother died of cancer. Lewis writes,“With my mother’s death all settled happiness, all that was tranquil and reliable, disappeared from my life…” The next year Jack’s father sent him off to a boarding school, Wynyard, which was run by a cruel, mentally-ill headmaster. Lewis begged his father to let him leave, but to no avail.
Well, the cumulative effect of his mother’s death, his father’s inability to communicate love, and the cruelty of his boarding school all combined to lead Jack to become a committed atheist. Describing this time in his life he wrote, “I had definitely formed the opinion that the universe was, in the main, a rather regrettable institution.”
In spite of all this hardship, Lewis excelled in his studies such that he was awarded a scholarship to attend Oxford University when he was 19. His examiner stated that Lewis’ exams were, “…the best ever seen…” in the history of Oxford. After service in World War I, where he was wounded more than once and cited for bravery, Lewis came across a book called Phantastes, by George MacDonald and it had a profound impact on him. It helped him to realize that the authors he most respected and were most challenged by-Dante, Spenser, Donne, Herbert, Milton, and others-were all Christians, while his least-favorite writers, the ones he felt were shallow and pretentious-Voltaire, Gibbon, Mill, Shaw, and Lawrence-were all opposed to traditional Christian faith. All this began to push him toward God. Referring to this period of his life he wrote, “All the books were turning against me…” He also said, “A young man who wishes to remain a sound atheist cannot be too careful of his reading.” On top of this he also began to discover that the colleagues he most admired were also Christians.
Eventually he made the reluctant admission that God did indeed exist. He said, “I gave in and admitted that God was God.” But Lewis still wasn’t a Christian. You see, a sticking point for him in this final step had been the similarity he saw between the Christ story and a number of myths about a dying and rising God, myths that he kept coming across as he studied pagan writers. This was the topic of a pivotal discussion on a late night walk that he shared with J. R. R. Tolkien and Hugo Dyson.
Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings, suggested that Lewis should expect to see similarities between pagan myths and Christianity. He said that in essence, the pagan myths functioned in the pagan world as the prophets did in ancient Israel, in that they pointed to the one “true myth,” the one that was not a myth after all and actually happened. Tolkien pointed out that the pagan myths were actually echoes of the truth, reflections of reality, so to speak. Lewis heard this and admitted that in his opinion that as a matter of fact the Gospel accounts did not read like myths but more like factual stories.
Well, within a few weeks of this talk, Lewis became a Christian. And not just a Christian, but a believer that God has used in a powerful way to lead others to faith in His Son. In fact, he has been called, “The Apostle to the Skeptics” because God has empowered Lewis’ great mind to lead many other atheists to faith in Jesus.
Now I want you to note that the final hurdle in Lewis’ coming to faith, the thing that convinced Him to become a believer, was the cross. Once he came to the conclusion that the message of John 3:16 was true, that God really did love him, in fact love him and the world so much that He sent His only Son to die for his sins, well, this realization removed the final barrier and Lewis put his faith in our Lord.
And many lost men, women, and children, have been drawn to God in the same way. His great love pulls them like a magnet because we all have this inner need to know that God loves us.
At the time Martin Luther was having his Bible printed in Germany, a printer’s daughter encountered God’s love in a unique way. You see, no one had told her about Jesus and the only emotion she felt toward God was fear. Well, one day as she cleaned, gathering the pieces of fallen Scripture from the floor of the print shop she found a piece of paper with these words written on it, “For God so loved the world that He gave…” That’s all; the rest of the verse had been torn off.
Still, those nine words were enough to move her. Just the thought that almighty God would love, love enough to give anything moved her from fear to joy. Her mother noticed the change of attitude and when she asked her daughter to explain her happiness, the little girl produced the crumpled piece of partial verse from her pocket. The mother read it and asked, “What did He give?” The child was perplexed for a moment and then answered, “I do not know. But if He loved us well enough to give us anything we should not be afraid of Him.”
And of course this is the essence of the Christmas story. You see the thing that prompted Jesus’ birth, the motivation for His coming to earth was the love of God. Think of it this way: what God did makes sense. It “adds up.” Let me explain.
As we’ve pointed our repeatedly in our “chronicles of Christmas story,” we are all sinners. Because of our sin we are separated from God. We’re spiritually dead without God and if that weren’t bad enough our sin also earns us physical death. But, when Jesus died on the cross, He died in our place. He was our substitute. When we admit our guilt and ask for God’s forgiveness, He gives it because of what Jesus did on the cross. As someone once referred to this, it is an exchange of sorts, the great exchange!
So, what God did in sending His Son into the world makes sense. He paid for our sin. He exchanged His sinlessness for our sin. He died our death.
But why He did it is another thing all together. I mean, why would a holy God die for sinners like you and me? That doesn’t “add up” does it!? I mean, did God do this because of moral duty or some sort of heavenly obligation? No-God is God! He is required to do nothing.
God did this because He loves us. As that young girl read on the paper from the floor of the print shop, God gave because He loved.
This is hard for us to grasp because the fact is God loves differently than you and I do.
(1) For example, God’s love is unconditional.
I mean, we tend to love only if someone does something for us or because someone is fun to talk to and be with. We love people who we think are love-able. But not God. He loves all sinners in spite of their sinfulness.
Do you remember the original words to Isaac Watts’ hymn, At The Cross?
Alas and did my Savior bleed, and did my Sovereign die
Would He devote that sacred head for such a worm as I?
I love this old wording because it communicates the fact that God loved me enough to send His Son to die for me in spite of my sin, in spite of my “worm-ness.” His is an unconditional love! As Watts says in the last verse,
Was it for crimes that I had done, He groaned upon that tree?
Amazing pity, grace unknown, and love beyond degree.
The story is told of a sailor who ran up to the bridge of his ship and in panic told his captain, “Sir, my little dog has fallen overboard. Will you stop the ship so that I can rescue him?"
The captain responded, “Son, this ship does not stop for dogs.”
The young man thought a moment and then said, “Sir, if it were a person that was overboard, would you stop the ship?”
The captain answered, “Of course we would.”
Immediately the sailor jumped overboard. He rescued his dog and waited for the captain to turn the ship around and rescue both of them.
Our love is like the captain’s-it has to be earned. But not God’s. It is given to all no matter what. God stops for dogs, worms, sinners like you and me!
This is because the source of God’s love is not in the object that He loves. I mean, nothing in us causes God to love us. We don’t provoke, trick, convince, earn, or win God’s love. He doesn’t love us because of who we are but rather because of Who He is. It is His nature and character that compel Him to express unconditional affection toward us. Because of this aspect of His being, God loves all people the same. God loves not just the good or the obedient, but the bad and the disobedient as well, because His love is absolutely unconditional. This leads to a second characteristic of God’s love.
(2) It is a love that is all-encompassing.
As John 3:16 says, God so-loved the world-all of it! And aren’t you glad it’s worded that way? As Max Lucado points out, aren’t you glad John 3:16 doesn’t say, “For God so loved the rich…” or “For God so loved the famous…” or “For God so loved the thin…” Or “For God so loved 50 year old men who still have their hair…”
It doesn’t say that does it! Nor does it say “For God so loved the Europeans or Africans…” or “The sober or successful…” or “…the young or the old…”
No, it says that God so loved the world-all of it and everyone in it. That’s how big, how all-encompassing the love of God is.
Think of it this way: if your best love would fill a tiny vial, God’s would fill the oceans on a billion billion billion planets.
As Paul says in Ephesians 3:17-19, God’s love is a love so big that it, “…surpasses knowledge.”
I mean, God’s love is so great there is no instrument that can measure how much He cares for you and wants your best. I love the words to the old song,
The love of God is greater far,
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child, He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Tho’ stretched from sky to sky.Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forever more endure,
The saints’ and angels’ song.
And then one other thing that Christmas teaches us when it comes to the love of God is this…
(3) It is visible.
I mean, God’s love is far more than an immeasurable emotion or inclination. It’s more than an aspect of His holy character. God’s love is visible. You can see clear evidence of it. As Romans 5:8 says, “God shows His love for us in this-while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
1 John 3:16 puts it this way, “This is how we know what [God’s] love is. Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.”
Referring to His coming sacrifice on the cross, in John 13:1 Jesus said, “Having loved His own who were in the world, He now showed them the full extent of His love.”
Above all things, Christmas-the Christ story, Jesus’ birth, life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection-shows us the love of God.
This week I read the true story of a 28-year-old woman named Carla Ardonge. Tragically, after hearing from her doctor the joyous news that she was pregnant, Carla also found out she had cancer. It was a treatable form of this illness, but it would require surgery and chemotherapy. She was told she would have to make a choice, because she couldn’t have the treatment and remain pregnant. It was a choice, she was told, between her life or her baby’s life.
Carla and her husband spent many hours in prayer and discussion and they decided to save the baby. Nine months later Carla slipped into a coma, and her son Stephano, was delivered by cesarean section. Eight hours later Carla died.
Now let me ask you. As Stephano grows up and begins to understand what his mother did for him, do you think there will ever be a question in his mind as to whether his mother loved him? I don’t think so. No, that will never be an issue. His father can always point to Carla’s sacrificial act and because this mom showed the depth of her love for her child.
Well, Jesus Christ did that very thing for you and me. He willing gave his life so that we might live. And, He did it because He loves us. I stand here before you on this Christmas Eve, as a fellow sinner, telling you that God loves you. He cares about you more than you’ll ever know. Regardless of your race, gender, age, education, no matter your past, your doubts, or your mistakes, God loves you. He loves you so much that He sent His only Son to die for your sin.
It is our custom every Christmas Eve to obey our Lord’s command and celebrate His amazing, unconditional, all-encompassing, visible love through the observance of communion. It is also our custom to invite all Christians present to partake with us. Even if you are not a member of this church, because if you are a Christian, if you are His, this is Yours.
THE ORDINANCE OF COMMUNION
Benediction
Now, may the Light of Christmas that illumines our souls, shine and make plain your way, until the light of your life is joined with that Light that is beyond all light, and we see even as we are seen, and we know even as we are known, and we are made perfect even as the Son of God is perfect, and heaven and earth are one.
Merry Christmas!