Earlier this month, I had the joy of fulfilling a long-held dream. As a long-time fan of C.S. Lewis and his books, I did a tour of his house, located on the outer edge of Oxford.
Lewis was one of the most influential writers of his day, and his books have reached millions of people all over the world. Of all that he wrote, he is perhaps best known for The Chronicles of Narnia, which rank near the top of my most beloved books of all time.
So it felt special to sit at the desk where Lewis created and wrote the whole magical world of Narnia – not with a typewriter, but by hand.
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One of Lewis’ lesser-known works, which I only discovered a few years ago, is his book, Miracles.
Published in 1947, in the aftermath of World War II, when some saw miracles and others longed for miracles that never came, it went on to be revised in 1960. In broad terms, the book argues that miracles are possible; that any modern disbelief in miracles is based on cultural bias; and that God does miracles to demonstrate his unique personal involvement in his creation.
One of my favourite quotes from Miracles is found in Chapter 14, and it feels appropriate to share it here, as we head rapidly towards Advent. It’s where Lewis says this:
‘The central miracle asserted by Christians is the Incarnation*. They say that God became Man. Every other miracle prepares for this, or exhibits this, or results from this … In the Christian story God descends to re-ascend. He comes down; down from the heights of absolute being into time and space; down into humanity… But He goes down to come up again and bring the ruined world up with Him … It [the Incarnation] was the central event in the history of the Earth – the very thing that the whole story has been about.’
*Although an unusual word, the word ‘incarnation’ describes the Christian belief that God became human in the person of Jesus Christ, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, both fully God and fully man.
The Incarnation is the outworking of John 1:14, ‘The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.‘
To Lewis, the fact that the God of the universe took on human flesh and dwelt among us, in the person of Jesus Christ, is not only the central miracle of Christianity, but the greatest miracle the world has ever known.
He knew that, if God had not become man in Jesus – living a perfect life, dying in our place, rising from the dead, ascending into heaven, sitting at the right hand of the Father – we would have no salvation, no freedom, no eternal life.
Without the Incarnation, we would have no hope.
This is why the Incarnation is the greatest ever miracle. It’s because it changes everything forever.
Let’s hold onto this as we head into Advent and get ready for Christmas.
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If you are a Christian, to what extent has the Christmas story become too familiar? What might it take for you to find a fresh sense of wonder at the miracle of God taking on human flesh and dwelling amongst us?
If you aren’t yet a Christian, to what extent have you considered the Christian belief that God became man in Jesus? What might it take for you to recognise this as the greatest ever miracle?
As ever, constructive comments are welcome below.
Please note: This is my ‘thought for the month’ reflection for November. (You can find all my ‘thought for the month’ reflections here.)
Photo by Deborah Jackson via Pixabay.
