The Family Man Series

The Great Divorce

One of my favorite authors is C.S. Lewis. I was first introduced to him back in middle school when I had summer reading - I believe it was either Prince Caspian or The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Part of the Chronicles of Narnia. He also wrote The Screwtape Letters and Mere Christianity, among other famous books and novels. However, instead of any of thus, let's talk about the time he boarded a bus for heaven.

Obviously, I'm not talking about him doing this in a literal sense, but rather through this astounding picture he paints in his book, The Great Divorce. A book that examines the question as to why people choose to give their lives in full commitment to God or not. To summarize this book much better than I did this sermon series, C.S. Lewis is showing that what we're basically doing is standing at the very gate of heaven, and making this choice between the eternal glory of God and the empty promises of earth - hence what he refers to as "the great divorce" between heaven and earth. In his book, Lewis talks about getting onto a bus with a group of fellow ghosts who have passed away. Shortly they're going to be dropped off at a sort of depot, where they will make their decisions and choices regarding eternity. Obviously salvation doesn't work this way, but just stay with me for a little bit - the book serves rather as an extended metaphor. For each person that steps off of the bus, this bright, shining figure steps out of heaven who has a direct connection to a person on the bus. They encourage them to make the journey into heaven, to choose the glory of God over the emptiness of earthly desires. They're not angels, but rather people from their life how have been saved.

People step off the bus - a person from their life comes out to talk to them, and so forth. And then it's a woman named Pam's turn.

Pam steps off the bus, and a shining figure steps out to greet her. But she's filled with disappointment when she realizes who it is. The person's name is Reginald - her younger brother. But Pam was hoping and praying it would be her son whom she outlived, Michael. She devoted her life to him and just wanted to see him so, so, badly. But, Reginald explains that she's not ready for that. She's not ready to see Michael. Instead, she first must be eager to be with God Himself, then the rest of the blessings of heaven will come. See, I love this part of the illustration, because C.S. Lewis makes this metaphor for saying that:

God isn't simply just a way to get into heaven; heaven is the way that we are to be with God. Outside of the metaphor, we know that Jesus is the only way to the father, but you get the point.

Reginald says to her, and I'm quoting the book here, "I'm afraid the first step is a hard one. But after that, you'll go on like a house on fire...when you learn to want someone else besides Michael." And Pam is just like - "What're you talking about? You know what, fine. I'll do whatever you say. I'll just do whatever is necessary...The sooner I do that, then the sooner I'll get to see my boy." Reginald just says, "You're using God as a means to an end, instead of wanting God for His own sake. He doesn't come in second; nor can he even be tied for first." Throughout the story it becomes clear that Pam's love for Michael, the love she had for her son was instead an obsession in her life. After he died, she sacrificed her relationships with her other children, her husband, her parents, all on the altar of adoration of her son. She even, at one point, says the phrase, "No one has a right to come between me and my son. Not even God."

The sad part is that the story makes it very clear that the woman is so set on her views and so unwavering in her ways that she ultimately chooses her own destination.

If we break down C.S. Lewis's view just to the foundation, to the root of what he's getting at - he's saying that our foundation, our first love, should be to love the Lord our God, and that we are to then love one another, like Christ already laid out for us when responding to the lawyer's question in Luke 10:27.

And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."