{"id":2078,"asset_id":2390,"title":"From The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume I","alias":"from-the-collected-letters-of-c-s-lewis-volume-i","introtext":"<p><i>Sometime in the spring (Trinity Sunday was May 22 that year, 1929) Lewis came to believe in God, though not yet in Christ:<\/i><\/p>\r\n<p>You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him of whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England. I did not then see what is now the most shining and obvious thing; the Divine humility which will accept a convert even on such terms. The Prodigal Son at least walked home on his own feet. But who can duly adore that Love which will open the high gates to a prodigal who is brought in kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance of escape? The words <i>compelle intrare<\/i>, compel them to come in, have been so abused by wicked men that we shudder at them; but, properly understood, they plumb the depth of the Divine mercy. The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of men, and His compulsion is our liberation. (<i>Surprised by Joy<\/i>, Chapter 14)<\/p>\r\n<p>From <i><a href=\"https:\/\/link.biblegateway.com\/click\/38084213.3254\/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYW1hem9uLmNvbS9kcC9CMDAyRUJEUEo2P2llPVVURjgmY2FtcD0xNzg5JmNyZWF0aXZlPTkzMjUmbGlua0NvZGU9dXIyJnRhZz10aG9tYXNuZWNvbS0yMCZsY3RnPTVlZjUwODdkM2Y4ZDc0N2I0ZjdjMjkyMw\/5ef5087d3f8d747b4f7c2923Ba7695634\">The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume I<\/a><\/i><br \/>Compiled in <i><a href=\"https:\/\/link.biblegateway.com\/click\/38084213.3254\/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaWJsZWdhdGV3YXkuY2hyaXN0aWFuYm9vay5jb20vQ2hyaXN0aWFuL0Jvb2tzL3Byb2R1Y3Q_aXNibj05NzgwMDYxMjQwNTkxJmxjdGc9NWVmNTA4N2QzZjhkNzQ3YjRmN2MyOTIz\/5ef5087d3f8d747b4f7c2923B862993dc\">Yours, Jack<\/a><\/i><\/p>","fulltext":"","state":1,"catid":"8","created":"2025-01-06 16:52:26","created_by":"873","created_by_alias":"","modified":"2025-01-06 16:52:26","modified_by":null,"checked_out":null,"checked_out_time":null,"publish_up":"2025-01-06 16:52:26","publish_down":"0000-00-00 00:00:00","images":"{\"image_intro\":\"\",\"float_intro\":\"\",\"image_intro_alt\":\"\",\"image_intro_caption\":\"\",\"image_fulltext\":\"\",\"float_fulltext\":\"\",\"image_fulltext_alt\":\"\",\"image_fulltext_caption\":\"\"}","urls":"{\"urla\":false,\"urlatext\":\"\",\"targeta\":\"\",\"urlb\":false,\"urlbtext\":\"\",\"targetb\":\"\",\"urlc\":false,\"urlctext\":\"\",\"targetc\":\"\"}","attribs":"{\"article_layout\":\"\",\"show_title\":\"\",\"link_titles\":\"\",\"show_tags\":\"\",\"show_intro\":\"\",\"info_block_position\":\"\",\"info_block_show_title\":\"\",\"show_category\":\"\",\"link_category\":\"\",\"show_parent_category\":\"\",\"link_parent_category\":\"\",\"show_associations\":\"\",\"show_author\":\"\",\"link_author\":\"\",\"show_create_date\":\"\",\"show_modify_date\":\"\",\"show_publish_date\":\"\",\"show_item_navigation\":\"\",\"show_icons\":\"\",\"show_print_icon\":\"\",\"show_email_icon\":\"\",\"show_vote\":\"\",\"show_hits\":\"\",\"show_noauth\":\"\",\"urls_position\":\"\",\"alternative_readmore\":\"\",\"article_page_title\":\"\",\"show_publishing_options\":\"\",\"show_article_options\":\"\",\"show_urls_images_backend\":\"\",\"show_urls_images_frontend\":\"\"}","version":1,"ordering":null,"metakey":"","metadesc":"","access":"1","hits":null,"metadata":"{\"robots\":\"\",\"author\":\"\",\"rights\":\"\",\"xreference\":\"\"}","featured":"1","language":"*","xreference":"","note":""}