C. S. Lewis @ Azusa Pacific University

Judging by my experience today I would say there are a lot of C. S. Lewis fans at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, California! I was blessed beyond measure to share with two freshman writing classes about my spiritual journey with C. S. Lewis and I got to hear how Lewis has impacted their lives. As their English teacher, Candy Ramirez, expressed to me, what is so refreshing about Lewis is his honesty. And in that honesty he helps us to be honest about our questions and doubts as we wrestle with God. This, I think, is an especially important message for college students, and perhaps more so at a Christian college than anywhere else. They need permission to doubt, permission to question, and guidance to seek reliable answers from Scripture and from some of the great Christian writers down through history, like C. S. Lewis.

Perhaps some of the students were pleasantly surprised to encounter a guest speaker and author who was interested in what they had to say. I encouraged them to continue with their writing and to pursue the desires God has placed in their hearts. That's another great lesson from Lewis--that the Christian life is meant to be a joyful journey!

We had an amazingly enthusiastic audience turn out on Friday night at Azusa. Amazing because it was homecoming weekend and students had many other options for how they could spend their Friday night. One student told me she was so glad she chose to come and spend her evening learning about Lewis. Another told me how Mere Christianity had dramatically shaped and deepened her faith in Christ. And still another student told me that he was going to start reading C. S. Lewis for the first time as a result of my talk.

If you think of it, pray for these precious young people that they will not only "look at" the writings of C. S. Lewis but that they will "look along" those writings back up to the Triune God who was so personally, poignantly and powerfully present in the life and writings of this great Christian thinker. My prayer for each person I meet on this book tour is that each will know for themselves the love of Christ which is so far beyond our comprehension (Ephesians 3:14-21).

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Will Vaus

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