Today's Reading
When you come to knowing God, the initiative lies on
His side.
If He does not show Himself, [nothing () you can do] will enable
you to find Him.
And, in fact, He shows much more of Himself to some
people /than to others—not because He has favourites,
but because it is
impossible for Him to show Himself /to a man //whose whole mind and
character are in the wrong condition.
Just as sunlight, though it has no favourites, cannot be reflected /in a dusty mirror /as clearly /as in a clean one.
You can put this /another way /by saying that while in
other sciences [the instruments you use] are things external to yourself
(things like microscopes and telescopes), [the instrument //through which
you see God] is your whole self.
And if a man’s self is not kept clean and bright, his glimpse of God will be blurred—like the Moon /seen through a dirty telescope. That is why horrible nations have horrible religions: they have been looking at God through a dirty lens.
From Mere Christianity
Compiled in A Year with C.S. Lewis
Mere Christianity. Copyright © 1952, C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. Copyright renewed © 1980, C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved. Used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers. A Year With C.S. Lewis: Daily Readings from His Classic Works. Copyright © 2003 by C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved. Used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers.