So, I finished reading “The Great Divorce” by C.S. Lewis a few days ago, however, I’ve hesitated to write about it for the simple fact that I doubt I can do it much justice. Alas, I shall try nonetheless.
First, a quick and altogether shameful synopsis:
The narrator falls asleep and dreams of travelling through Heaven and Hell on a bus. Hell, in his dream, isn’t the bottomless pit of flames and darkness. Rather, it’s a grey city that expands light years into its space. Heaven, on the other hand, is the most gorgeous of lands.
Once in Heaven (so to speak), shining “spirits” of men and women come to greet those who have left the bus and to invite them to seek forgiveness and come into Heaven. The Spirits promise that though the journey deeper into Heaven will painful, the Ghosts will gradually become immune to the pain.
Sadly, most of the Ghosts decide to return to the grey city for one reason or another while few remain. The narrator is able to see Ghosts transformed into shining Spirits, solidifying as they give up their self-indulgences to embrace Love Himself…
I hesitate to say too much more for fear of giving away the good parts. Hopefully that has piqued your interest.
Musings
A) One of Lewis’s primary focuses is the ability of the Ghosts to choose their destination. They are shown both Heaven and Hell. The Spirits try to persuade them to stay, to venture further into Heaven but most turn away because they’re more comfortable in the grey city-there’s no journey of suffering to get there.
B) Lewis challenges the Christian’s belief that God’s grace is for everyone. (SPOILER ALERT!!) One of my favorite passages from the book is when a man (who deems himself a good man) is greeted by his friend’s murderer. The murderer, now solid and Christlike because of YHWH’s forgiveness, was sent from God to bring the man into Heaven. The man contends with the Spirit and basically says, “If Heaven is the kind of place that lets people like you in, I don’t want to be there.”
Ouch. I was so stunned that I literally had to stop reading. I realized that there were people in my life I felt the same way about: My neighbor, her crazy son, my “father”. If anyone of them came to greet me, I would think, “Get away. There’s no way I EVER want to spend eternity any where near you”. How utterly condescending and dreadful. If I hesitate to enter Heaven based upon man, I have no place there.
Since then, I’ve been trying to wrap my mind around the fact that God’s grace is limitless. Free. For EVERYONE. And, unlike the man in the aforementioned story, I need to put away my “rights” and let God be God.
So…
What all this means is you should DEFINITELY read “The Great Divorce”. I recommend it wholeheartedly!
