Part 3: A Lesson from C.S. Lewis

Sometimes troubling times disproportionately trouble us because our perspective is too small. When we have our eyes solely on ourselves and our immediate circumstances, we become overwhelmed all too quickly. Maintaining a proper perspective involves maintaining a bigger perspective, and C.S. Lewis has helped me immensely through his book The Great Divorce.

This book is about the nature of the choices we make and the self-deception with which we justify our refusals of God. The story is about the souls in Hell having an opportunity to go on a holiday in Heaven, where they are met by the citizens of Heaven who appeal to them to stay and enjoy all that it has to offer. The narrator is guided along a journey where he witnesses the interactions between the ghosts of Hell and spirits in Heaven. At one point, his guide tries to offer some insight into eternity, which is something he says mortals can’t really grasp: “That is what mortals misunderstand. They say of some temporal suffering, ‘No future bliss can make up for it,’ not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backward and turn even that agony into a glory.”

How often are our eyes focused narrowly on our own immediate circumstances without any consideration of the bigger picture and without an eternal perspective? From the perspective of eternity, how is our current situation looking? Last time I checked, Jesus is on the throne. Last time I checked, his purposes in our lives and in our world won’t be shaken by anything. Last time I checked, we are looking ahead to a day with him when there will be no more sorrow, and he himself will wipe away our tears.

Let’s keep our eyes on Jesus and his kingdom, not upon ourselves and these kingdoms on earth. Those kingdoms will inevitably be shaken and fall. His kingdom is eternal and secure, and that’s where our true and deepest citizenship lies. So, let’s live like it and be encouraged that Jesus is walking through these times with us, and his purposes in our lives and in this world will not be shaken.