Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6 (KJV)
C.S. Lewis and Joy Gresham were the original “odd couple”. The movie “Shadowlands” tells the true story
of how Lewis, a never-married, post-middle-aged scholar/teacher, living a
protected, safe existence at English Oxford’s college, meets and falls in love
with Mrs. Gresham, a Jewish-born/now Christian, and very outspoken American,
soon-to-be-divorced poet.
It was Mr. Conventional meeting Mrs. Every Day is a New Adventure.
In the discovery process of these two lives joining, their common
ground is that they were once both “confirmed unbelievers” who turned
to Christianity. Joy’s line is classic: So, you mean we are both lapsed atheists?
Enter the witness of Solomon.
The wise king wrote much about family life and parenting. Training a child in the way (s)he learns best
is an imprint on a soul; eventually all parental training becomes something
unforgettable in the grown person.
In the lives of C.S. Lewis and Joy Gresham the seeds of Christian
faith were planted early, and only came to fruit in their later years. They both chose their faith intellectually
before it blossomed within.
And, (give or take a few years) isn’t that the way it always
happens?
We may be brought into the church when just a few weeks old,
baptized and placed on the cradle roll; or some time later in life, a crisis awakens
us to our need for faith. Or we may have
been raised without ever darkening a church doorstep.
Either way, because of the faith of our parents, influence of a guardian,
or witness of a friend, (whether in early life or later days) the seedling of
faith will have its prevenient planting in our souls, and will bear its fruit;
God says His Word will never return void (Isaiah 55:11).
In such a fashion we are all destined to become lapsed atheists; faith
is inevitable in the sense that we are created to believe. And, because of free will, some choose the
faith of the cross; others reject Christ, choosing to become God rather
than worship Him.
Not all choose Jesus, but we all choose to place someone or something
on the throne of our heart.
The seeds of faith in Christ were planted early, clearly and
firmly by my parents, the believers in the church we attended and the lives of
countless friends and acquaintances.
For a while I chose to walk away from that faith; but my atheism
lapsed!
And I am forever thankful!
For You, Today…
Like the man on TV who asks, What’s in your wallet?, I
would pose the same inquiry:
Who’s on your heart’s throne?
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