My brother and I took a day off last week, put sandwiches in our pockets, and tramped sixteen miles..from Dorchester Abbey to Oxford.... You would be surprised if you could see the unspoilt beauty and charm which can still be found.... I hope to send you the autographed children's book by Christmas, but will probably know more about its progress this afternoon, as I am going out to lunch with my publisher.
~ C.S. Lewis, "Letter to Miss Vera Mathews," September 20, 1950, Lewis' Collected Letters, III, p54
C.S. Lewis was a gifted writer, a master wordsmith. More than half a century later his writings are still very popular, still influential, still capturing our imagination. Almost two millennia later we are still reading Luke and Matthew's masterful accounts of the Christmas Story. In the past century we have learned more details about the culture, customs and nuances of first century palestine than ever! We know more about the context of the Christmas story then any other generation of Christians.
We learn through reading. Good writing can change our minds, shape our hearts, and influence our will. Gifted writers are a vital part of our culture, to speak truth to power, to point to beauty, to remind us of what we have already learned about community and creation. God understands this, and so has given us many stories by through which we can come to know Him. We learn about Jesus through gifted writers, through masterful writing. Words are the gateway to believing in Jesus.
These [words] are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ.
John 20v31 (NIV)
To tell His story, God put himself into the middle of it - being born in first century Palestine amidst a powerful Roman Empire's rule. Jesus was born and died in poverty, working as a stonemason and never owning his own home. He became estranged from his family and religious leaders. His wandering around the countryside for the final years of his life attracted all sorts of misfits, outcasts and beggars. Yet this was God's plan to turn Israel around, to express his love to the world, and to set in motion a new way of intervening in the lives of people for millennia to come.
The Scriptures are a fascinating story about God at work in the world. It takes work to grasp the words, their meaning and context and implications. The wrestling with the ideas and the cultures and the truths are part of what makes the Bible still so compelling today. It's easy to dismiss it, to live your life without really reading it or trying to understand it. But for those who give it an honest, courageous, enduring effort - there is much reward for this life and the one to come.
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