Most people think hell is full of pain and suffering
But C.S. Lewis said it was the exact opposite — hell is getting everything you ever wanted
Lewis’ novel, The Great Divorce, begins in a dreary city
It’s gray, rainy and dull. Strangely, the narrator doesn’t know how he got there
More strangely, he feels an odd dread — the city is quiet, yet not peaceful
It’s as if he’s missing something, but doesn’t know what…
A bus pulls up, and the driver hides his face
The narrator is confused, but people begin boarding. He follows suit
He listens in silence as the passengers bicker with each other
When he looks out the window, however, he gasps, realizing he’s on no ordinary bus ride
The bus starts ascending into the sky
As they rise, the narrator discovers he and the passengers are ghosts
Stranger yet, they arrive at a beautiful, idyllic and peaceful meadow
But the beauty is not as inviting as it seems
The passengers step onto the grass and cry in pain
The grass is too solid, the world too bright, for their ghostly bodies
Soon enough, shining figures begin approaching the passengers with a warning
“For the love of God, please repent!”
One of the figures — an angel — explains everything to the narrator:
The passengers were in hell, but now are at the gates of heaven
They have a chance to make it to paradise, but each passenger must do the unthinkable:
Repent of the sin they treasure most
The passengers — including an unholy bishop, a bully, a nagging wife, and a lustful man — must learn humility to make it to heaven
This means not just apologize, but renounce their deepest desires:
What does this mean in practice?
For the bully — apologizing to his victims
The wife — humbling herself to her husband
The bishop — renouncing his impiety
Such actions go far deeper than mere apology:
Their sins had defined their entire identity — they must make the ultimate sacrifice...
Each passenger must sacrifice their deepest desire
The wife LOVES nagging
The bishop LOVES his impiety
The bully LOVES his strength
They’re not merely challenged to apologize, but transform
In other words:
Heaven is open to all, but only if you’re willing to sacrifice EVERYTHING to attain it...
To the narrator’s horror, and the angels’ despair, the passengers start turning around
Lewis’ point — hell is locked from the inside
Man’s damnation is a choice, not a punishment:
“Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven”
Hell is the freedom to live however you want…
You can’t be forced to love the Good against your will
You are free to live by your own rules:
Unfortunately, such a world is darker than it looks
At first you might wonder what’s so bad about Lewis’ hell?
It’s a rainy city of total freedom — far from a punishment, some might consider it great!
The narrator wonders about this, but an angel explains the dreadful fate of those who embrace hell…
The angel explains Hell is not fire and brimstone, but numbness
The more you cling to it, the less you feel
Why?
Because a life divorced from goodness is a life divorced from vitality
Clinging to evil corrupts both your soul and your sanity
You grow so divorced from joy that suffering feels like the norm
Your humanity is reduced to mere gray matter, but that’s just the start
This numbness becomes an unending spiral...
Hell’s inhabitants have nothing but their desires
The more they cling to evil, the darker hell becomes
Separated from goodness, they cling to themselves
Fear rots their brains as darkness descends. An “eternal night,” begins casting itself over them until all is black
This is what Lewis says hell is:
An abyss — no pleasure, no pain, no love — just a void with nothing but yourself
In the end, Lewis reminds us his writing is an allegory, not theological doctrine
However, his novel gives a clear takeaway on the nature of good, evil, and what true redemption looks like
Lewis’ point — pride precedes all evil, humility all goodness
Redemption begins the minute you repent, and desire to surrender to the Good
A prideful life is the opposite — “I’m going to live by my own rules”
Hell is not a punishment, but a choice:
You choose to serve your own desires, rather than The Good
Sadly, a life divorced from goodness is a life divorced from love
A world that satisfies all your earthly desires is a loveless eternity… one of loneliness and despair
Love is the opposite — sacrificing selfish desire out of love for the Good
Only a humbled heart can open itself up to love and redemption
Hell may serve your desires, but heaven is a lasting satisfaction. A joy beyond your wildest dreams...
Comments
Post a Comment