C.S. Lewis taught us to take care of our souls

It’s easy to ignore an essential aspect of our spiritual lives. Life on earth can be a distraction to the blessings our souls need. We are bombarded by messages, posts, and discussions about taking care of our health and keeping our bodies as strong as possible. It’s not wrong to prioritize our health, unless physical health becomes a higher priority than spiritual health.

C.S. Lewis said, “You don’t have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.” When last did you look in the mirror for the purpose of seeing your soul reflected? How can we ensure that caring for our souls is a top spiritual priority? C.S. Lewis offers some great advice for that.

Pursue the joy of your salvation daily

We can wake up each morning with the joy and comfort Jesus provides. Upon our salvation, we received the daily companionship of Jesus through his Holy Spirit so that we could live with the assurance of heaven. One of the best ways to live on earth is to look forward to the perfection our souls will enjoy in heaven. 

We chase after happiness in our lives; we should also pursue the “inexpressible joy” that Peter wrote about.

Peter told the early church to live with the joy of their faith in Christ and their promised salvation. The apostle wrote, “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8–9).

Everything on earth is temporary. Joy is pursuing things eternal.

Enjoy your promised salvation, but care about the salvation of others

Everyone you see this week is a soul living in a temporary, human body. Each person you speak to or pass by is either going to spend eternity in heaven or hell. Biblically, those are the only two options God provided. 

I’ve spent a lot of time with my mom at her assisted living home. I teach a Bible study there each week, and even in the memory care area, it is easy to spot those who are comforted by God’s eternal promises and those who still need to receive the salvation Jesus died to provide them. I never teach a Bible study there without reminding the group about their salvation in Jesus. Most are in wheelchairs, and the others move about slowly. Their bodies are worn out and tired, but the Christians have an eagerness for heaven that shines in their eyes. The salvation of their souls is their greatest joy. 

I’ve had so many unique experiences teaching up there. I’ve seen glimpses of the joy of Jesus in their faces, their words, and their expressions of love for one another. I’ve driven home with tears at times and the sense that I am incredibly privileged to help walk these saints home to heaven. 

C.S. Lewis wrote, “No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is opened.” I’ve learned a valuable lesson from these Christians who are almost home. I should live with their eternal priorities now. It would be a shame to miss that eternal joy today simply because my earthly life is less limited by age-related issues. 

I’ve also learned to see each elderly person as almost eternal. If I love them as I should, I will do my best to make sure their eternity will be spent with the Lord. And I’m reminded that I should see everyone with that same eternal priority.

Do we love the unsaved as we should?

C.S. Lewis wrote, “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’ All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock, it is opened.”

I will always consider my time with my mom one of the greatest privileges of my life. She is a Christian, and I know that one of these days, when the phone rings, I will rejoice through my tears that she is safely home in heaven. This time with her has been life-changing. The Lord wanted me to learn and experience these lessons for the sake of my soul and for the sake of my ministry.

These souls living on the edge of eternity have taught me not to wait until happiness runs out to pursue eternal joy. As C.S. Lewis said, we all have earthly bodies, but we are souls. I want to help others look in the mirror and see their soul reflected. I want all of us to spend the rest of our lives viewing other people with an eternal perspective.

I’ve been cussed at a few times while I was teaching a Bible lesson to the group. It was a bit shocking at first, but now I’ve come to realize those moments are God’s revelation to me and to the other Christians in the room. God is saying, “I want to love this person as much as possible, through you.” Interestingly, I have watched a lot of us develop a God-given love for some of those people who are obviously angry, sad, and desperate. 

Last week, as I was teaching, a woman stood up and walked toward me with angry, foul words. I just looked her in the eyes and told her how much Jesus loved her and wanted her to have his joy. I taught the rest of my lesson with this woman’s head on my shoulder as I hugged her. I pray the Holy Spirit was able to give her the message she needed to know about salvation that day. I have prayed for her soul to know the joy of salvation through Jesus Christ. 

I’ve learned that God can give me his great love for others, and I truly do care about the eternal security of these souls. I’ve also learned that I should feel that exact way for everyone I encounter, not just these elderly people whom I teach every week.. I don’t think I would have cared about another person who cussed me out like I care for those in my mom’s memory care area. But I should – and I want to.

Our souls live to bring God glory now

We care about the length of time our earthly bodies will live. We should care even more about the reasons our souls are still alive on earth. Each day, we have an eternal purpose for our temporary life on earth. C.S. Lewis wrote, “The Glory of God, and, as our only means of glorifying Him, the salvation of human souls, is the real business of life.” 

Some of the people you will speak to this week are spending their earthly lives without the joy of eternity in their souls. Some Christians are doing the same thing. Joy is the reflection of a soul that is filled with God’s glory. If you see that joy reflected in your mirror, others will want the joy of your salvation.

May our mirrors reflect the glory of God, and may our lives reflect his eternal priorities. If so, other souls will likely go to heaven as a result. And, as C.S. Lewis said, that is the “real business of life.”

Heavenly minded or earthly good?

Many people have requoted or rephrased Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.’s famous statement: “Some people are so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly good.” You can follow this link if you are curious about Holmes himself, but suffice it to say, the man was brilliant. That said, his now famous quote misses the mark.

I couldn’t discover the context for Holmes’ quote but did read in the Wikipedia article that his father was a minister and hoped his son would follow him into the ministry. Oliver’s dad enrolled him in the Phillips Academy to spend a year in theological training. Holmes changed schools a year later describing the professors at the academy as having “bigoted, narrow-minded, uncivilized” attitudes. It’s possible his years there contributed to his famous statement about people being so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly good. It’s also possible that Holmes believed himself to have a superior intellect to those who taught biblical truth.

C.S. Lewis didn’t agree with Oliver Wendell Holmes

Ten years after the death of Oliver Wendell Holmes, another brilliant man was born. He, like Holmes, was considered a literary scholar and gifted author. C.S. Lewis is famous for becoming a brilliant theologian as well. 

While Holmes said, “Some people are so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good,” C.S. Lewis had very different thoughts. Lewis’ book Mere Christianity was published in 1952 and is considered to be a literary and theological classic. It continues to be a best seller in Christian apologetics today. My husband Jim has often jokingly said, “I’m pretty sure no one can get into heaven until they read Mere Christianity” (Although when he reads this blog post he might tell me, “I’m not joking!”). Everyone who knows my husband, also a brilliant mind, knows he is a HUGE fan of Mere Christianity. 

Lewis has very different ideas from Oliver Wendell Holmes about being “heavenly minded.” In Mere Christianity Lewis said, “If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade, all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this: Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither.”

Lewis taught Christians that the most important way to be of earthly value was to be heavenly minded. Lewis points to world history to make his point, not his own intellect, as amazing as it was. C.S. Lewis died the same day that JFK was assassinated in Dallas. His death passed almost without notice because of the news. In many ways I’m reminded of the verse that says in heaven, “The last shall be first and the first shall be last.” Earth lost a president the same day heaven gained a theological genius.

How heavenly minded do you choose to be?

I took a break while typing this blog post to go get my mom from her assisted living and take her to a cemetery that is just up the road from our home in Tyler. We sat on a bench labeled “Croswhite-Denison” and looked at the grave marker with my parents’ names. Dad passed away in July of 2016 and my mom is eighty-seven and slowing down. Jim and I purchased four plots side by side, and I began the process of having my dad’s remains moved from Dallas to his spot here in Tyler.

I enjoy thinking of my dad fishing in his heavenly boat on a breathtaking lake in heaven with St. Peter. Dad loved fishing and went every chance he could. I can’t know what heaven will be like, I just know it is perfect. My dad, fishing in that boat, would be his idea of perfect. 

I sat next to Mom on the bench that marks Dad’s burial place, and one day, will mark hers and ours. It is easy to think about heaven as I sit typing this blog post. My thoughts aren’t sad, they are hopeful. It will hurt to lose my mom one day, but there is joy knowing I’m just handing her to Jesus. I’ll see my parents again, in heavenly bodies that won’t decay and enjoying heavenly moments that will never end.

We need to be heavenly minded so that we can be filled with the hope that is our future reality in heaven. We need to be heavenly minded so that we make earthly choices that will be blessed eternally. We need to be heavenly minded so that we can do the most “earthly good” possible. Heavenly minded will help us to be Spirit-led on earth.

Earthly good from a heavenly mind.

Whenever I think of being heavenly minded I think of Philippians 4:8 that says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8). 

Paul wrote his letter to the prosperous Roman colony of Philippi while under house arrest in Rome. He knew it wasn’t an easy life for the Christians in that city, and Paul wanted them to have joy, regardless of their circumstances. Christians today have a lot in common with those Philippian Christians as well as many Christians throughout history who have wrongly been labeled, “bigoted, narrow-minded, uncivilized.” 

There has never been a time in world history that Christians weren’t being persecuted somewhere. Open Doors reports that “More than 365 million (one in seven) Christians face high levels of persecution for their faith – and persecution is becoming dangerously violent in countries on the World Watch List. Attacks on churches and Christian properties sky-rocketed in 2023 as more Christians than ever faced violent attacks.”

With all the world’s rhetoric these days, we have a great need to be “heavenly minded.” Look again at the things Paul taught us to think about and then obey Paul’s admonishment. Think on those things. The earthly good you will do this week can be the product of your heavenly mind, filled with the heavenly thoughts you choose to think about. 

C.S. Lewis said, “Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither.” What will you aim towards today? Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

Oliver Wendell Holmes is often quoted, but his words are not fully true. Jesus taught his disciples what C.S. Lewis taught in Mere Christianity. The best way to accomplish earthly good is to live heavenly minded. Seek God as your King, seek to be filled by his righteousness, and you will have it all, now and in heaven. 

 

 

How the quiet confidence of Amy Coney Barrett encourages my witness

I was always taught that we aren’t supposed to wish away time. 

But, in all honesty, I’ve been wishing away October 2020. 

I’m already constantly using the mute button on my television remote. My next move is the off button. 

I don’t write a political persuasion blog. Sometimes I want to. I have strong values and opinions. I will stand in a long line, if necessary, to ensure my vote counts. 

But, this morning as I type, I have a singular goal for October 2020, and it is simple: “Help me, Lord, to not lose sight of your priorities.” 

An October example 

I watched Amy Coney Barrett as she was introduced to the world this past weekend. It occurred to me that, in an ocean of vitriol, she is quietly confident. Amidst the shouts of right and wrong, she speaks of duty. Surrounded by words of slander, she allows her life to be her defense. She doesn’t just believe her opinions; she lives them. 

If Christians will pay attention to her, we will have an example for our own lives this October. I’m praying that I will stand with the same confidence, security, and steadfast resolve I see exhibited in her life. I pray that she will continue to set that example for our country. It’s hard to ignore, and it’s difficult to dispute. 

We shouldn’t be bothered by what isn’t true. Our lives should be consumed by anything that is truth. 

How like God to quietly orchestrate an October 2020 example for our country. Amy Coney Barrett is not an October surprise. She is an October example. 

Our instructions are clear 

Pay attention to the things that only God can bring about. God is working in our world and has called us to work with him. Our perspective from Scripture is clear: “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Psalm 115:3). 

Quiet confidence is a powerful witness, especially for October 2020. Our future doesn’t depend on a presidential election—although I believe we all have a responsibility to vote. Our eternal reward, and very likely the eternal security of others, will depend on how we choose to live in the present. 

What do you want people to remember about the way you lived your life and spoke your opinions during October 2020? 

People will remember. 

That is what will matter in October 2021. 

Our highest priority is our great privilege 

Will we have earned the right to share our faith next year with the people we have shared our political opinions with this October? 

The letters of 1 and 2 Peter are called General Epistles. Peter wrote those letters at the end of his life, and they were to be passed around and read to a number of churches. So he wrote those letters with thoughts that would apply to every Christian, for all time. That is why his words have always provided powerful direction and straightforward truth. We call his letters Scripture. 

Peter wrote a message for our October 2020. This verse is one of the reasons I chose to teach his letters this year. It wasn’t difficult to know that this fall would be a difficult season for all of us to maintain our witness. It is a tough month to camp on the high road. 

Peter’s advice to the first-century church is ours for October 2020: “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness” (2 Peter 1:5–6). 

All of us will be able to share our political opinions this month. Let’s realize that our quiet confidence in the direction of our world isn’t founded on a political candidate. Our highest confidence is in the power and authority of God. Our privilege isn’t just the freedom we celebrate as Americans; it is the freedom we have in Christ. 

Quiet confidence will shout God’s truth 

I watched Amy Coney Barrett and saw the quiet confidence of a woman who knows Christ and trusts Christ. I saw her as an example for my own witness this October. I am going to pray that she will be strengthened in the power of God’s Holy Spirit. My prayer is not only for her political witness. It is for the witness she is positioned to be for God this month and in the years ahead. 

I pay attention to the things that only God can orchestrate. There is a woman who professes her faith who will need great strength to live her faith in October 2020. What she says and how she says it will be taped, run as news, and will remain her witness for many years to come. 

As a Christian, I feel called to pray for her. And I feel called to pray for my own witness this month. I don’t want my politics to overshadow my privilege and priority to share God’s word with others. 

A verse for October 2020 

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). 

I know my mouth will not belong to God unless I trust it to him. Anyone who knows me knows I have my opinions. 

But what I need to protect is the ability to speak God’s truth. 

Let’s pray for Amy Coney Barrett and for ourselves. 

Help us, Lord, to trust your righteous right hand to be our strength and to know that your Word is the truth our world ultimately needs. May we not be dismayed by our culture but strengthened by our faith. May our example bring you glory. In Jesus’ name, and for his sake, we pray. Amen. 

P.S. Have you signed up for my bible study, Foundations of Faith, yet? It’s not too late, we just released lesson 3!

Visit https://www.janetdenisonbiblestudy.com/ to sign up for this study, if you’ve already signed up you can login and access the newest video too.