The Idea of an Essay, Volume 4

100 The Idea of an Essay: Volume 4 Seeking answers from God is important to how Believers view grief. Employed in Lewis’ own raw grief, pathos finds its place. In his apt words, “If she was in God’s hands all the time, I have seen what they did to her here. Do they suddenly become gentler to us the moment we are out of the body? And if so, why?” (Lewis 27) In his unexplainable pain, Lewis allows himself something that many Christians perceive as the ultimate sin: he questionsGod. Yet asmuch as this is frowned upon in Christian society, Lewis connects with his audience in a feeling that many have been shared when experiencing loss. Did God make a mistake? How could He choose to wound so deeply? Lewis continues: “If God’s goodness is inconsistent with hurting us, then either God is not good or there is no God: for in the only life we know He hurts us beyond our worst fears and beyond all we can imagine” (Lewis 27-28). Lewis expresses accurately how a grieving mind might perceive all sorts of “godly comfort” and how each of them ultimately fall short. The biggest point that Lewis appears to drive at is the helplessness of the bereaved and those who surround them. Lewis even dares to asks the hard question: How is God good when He has allowed something clearly bad to happen? In his book The Problem of Pain, Lewis writes, “IF God were good, He would wish to make His creatures perfectly happy, and if God were almighty He would be able to do what He wished. But the creatures are not happy. Therefore God lacks either goodness, or power, or both. This is the problem of pain, in its simplest form” (Lewis 12). Here, Lewis uses the claim that if God is good, He shouldn’t hurt us. His warrant for his claim is that no one who claims to hold His child in the palm of His hand would intentionally inflict that person who is trusting Him. Just as a relationship between two people has little chance of growing if there is absolutely no conflict, so a Christian’s trust and growth in Christ will not progress unless there are periods of time where everything is falling apart. There must be conflict and adversity to have sanctification. Otherwise, there would be no need for sanctification itself. Ultimately, Lewis draws in Logos, Pathos, and Ethos to convey a compelling argument that many do not want to consider. Sanctification, not a simple process, uses uncomfortable methods to get attention. Acknowledging who God is before everyone and everything else is essential in sanctification. How would we walk closer if we were not driven closer by the storms of life? The idea that