C. S. Lewis "Quote of the Week"

“I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommendChristianity.”

C. S. Lewis, God in the Dock

This quote was sent to me by my good friend who knows my appreciation for both C. S. Lewis and good Port!

Seriously though, Lewis is on to something here. Certainly this sentiment flies in the face of the happy-clappy, smiley-face Christianity that both plagues and discredits the faith in this country. I am convinced that authentic faith must ultimately involve struggle; that it is muscular and demanding; and in the end, brings a measure of discomfort. Isn't this what Jesus taught in Matthew 10:

34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’[e] 37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. "

Which also puts me in mind of another Lewis quote:

In religion, as in war and everything else, comfort is the one thing you cannot get by looking for it. If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end: if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth--only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and , in the end, despair.

C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity