C.S. Lewis, who lived from 1898-1963, was a brilliant teacher, author and apologist (someone who defends the Christian faith).

You might know him as the author of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; and the rest of the Chronicles of Narnia. In addition to the stories of Narnia, Lewis also wrote Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters as well as other influential books about the truth of Christianity.

It might surprise you to know that this author whose works expressed a deep faith and an understanding of God and spiritual life, was in the early part of his life a declared atheist.

In Surprised by Joy, Lewis' story of his own life, he wrote, "A young man who wishes to remain a sound atheist cannot be too careful of his reading. There are traps everywhere... God is, if I may say it, very unscrupulous."

"Night after night," Lewis continues, "[I felt], whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him 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."

1. What do you think were Lewis' reasons to resist God, to avoid a relationship with Him?

2. Do you find some of his reasons in within you and your current relationship with God, even if perhaps at a lesser degree?

3. What are some of the things you expect from a healthy relationship that you are not giving to God today?