God's Desire For Perfectionism In C. S. Lewis

In chapter nine, C.S. Lewis expands on the notion of God’s desire for perfection. He states that some people believe that God expects nothing short of perfection from his children and, therefore, finds us hopeless. However, draws attention to the fact that this is not the truth. He explains that God’s desire for excellence is not meant to scare us, but rather act as a comforting message. God will love and work with us until we have achieved perfection. Lewis then goes on and recounts a time in his childhood when he suffered from toothaches. He expressed that in spite of the knowledge that his mother would provide him with pain killers, he would not ask her for her help until he was in excruciating pain, because his mother would inevitably take him to the dentist the next morning. “I could not get what I wanted from her unless I got something more, which I did not want” (Lewis 201). In the same way that his mother did not leave well enough alone, God does not either. God grants us a full treatment when we come to him with our problems. Lewis’ quote reminded me of the apostles. In

He utilizes the example of evolution, except, Lewis states that this evolution of man will not come about due to a natural process; instead, it will come from the outside. This reminded me of imagery from chapter nine, where Christ infects us with Zoe. These brand new men and women are already a part of our world and present in our lives. This realization encouraged me to contemplate and identify all the people in my life whom I believe are new men and women in Christ. Lewis’ assertion that some of these humans are subtly recognizable is true. Each and everyone one of these people in my life possess a faint radiance within them that draws me to them. Perhaps this radiance is part of Jesus Christ, which is why he is titled “light of the