Another amazing book by C.S. Lewis. Personally however I favored The Screwtape Letters. I really liked how blunt and straight forward Lewis was. I felt that in The Great Divorce there was a greater need for me to decipher Lewis’ meaning before I could comprehend the moral message trying to be made.
My favorite thing about Lewis is that he has caused me, on more than one occasion, to do some real soul searching. It is oftentimes far to easy for me to see myself as a character in one of Lewis’ books. But it has given me a lot of insight on parts of my own life that I need to improve because of my own human weaknesses.
One message I love that The Great Divorce tries to convey is that our life and our condition is a consequence of every choice we make. As humans we are each basically in control of our destiny. It is up to us to choose. With so much power comes great responsibility. It would be so easy to decide today to live a sinful life, allowing human pleasure and lust to take control of everything we do. But in the days, months, years, and eternities to follow we would each have to face the consequences of such a decision. In The Great Divorce God does not force men to hell. They are freely able to travel to heaven and to stay if they so choose. The pathway however isn’t always the easiest, and because of this many people would rather live in hell than be glorified with God in heaven. As the characters in the book reached heaven from hell they realized that in order to stay in heaven and become like the heavenly beings they would undergo a lot of physical pain. They could either turn around and stay the way they were, or they could push forward through the pain and become a better and more exalted person because of it. I like to apply this idea to my everyday life. I go through struggles, I have trials, I feel pain, but pain and fear can only devour and conquer me if I allow it to. If on the other hand I lean on the Lord and fight through it than my struggles will become my strengths and I will be a better person afterwards.
Another thought I had while reading this book was the idea that I shouldn’t fear the future. This book was a constant reminder that God has a plan for me, through which I can be eternally happy if I choose to be. At this point in my life, this message was a vital reminder to me that I can’t give up and stop living life. I have no reason to fear what my future holds, because my destiny rests in the hands of the only person I can ever completely trust, and that is my Heavenly Father. That is an amazing thing, and it helps me to face each day with joy and happiness.
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