The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis; chapters 1-3

C.S. Lewis’ story of fantasy in The Great Divorce is a rich and twisted tale of leaving the dismal yet comforting world of self in an effort to trust others, and especially trust God, and take the necessary changes to break-out from one’s world of self and enter the love of God. The tale is a story of Good and Evil; a tale of Heaven and Hell, but a believable tale where the greatest evil is wrapped in apathy and selfishness, which makes the story all the more believable…and therefore frightening.

In the Preface of his book, Lewis sets the stage for the journey that will be told in his story; a journey of striving toward God’s glory, the holy “working out” of one’s salvation. For those who have sought the Reign of God and have finally come to know the glory of God at their journey’s end, of them Lewis writes, “in that sense it will be true for those who have completed the journey (and for no others) to say that good is everything and Heaven everywhere. But we, at this end of the road, must not try to anticipate that retrospective vision. If we do, we are likely to embrace the false and disastrous converse and fancy that everything is good and everywhere is Heaven.” (preface, pg. IX) Lewis’ insight and warning to those of us still making our earthly journey is an important and humbling message that needs to be heard now more than ever.

Chapters 1 and 2 are devoted to descriptions of a dingy town that we will learn little about, other than it is a dismally comforting place; a place where anyone’s bleak expectations can be fulfilled with merely a wish. The story’s action quickly centers around the bus station as the dingy town’s inhabitants wait for a magical bus. The line is quite long, but tension and disagreement among the group quickly thin the line to just half the bus’ capacity. The bus’ arrival to the bright and strange new land beyond reveals the true images of the travelers aboard the bus…and the revelations are unsettling!

Chapter 3 provides an introduction to the new land beyond the dingy town and we soon understand that this must be Heaven. Everything is quite different and nothing can compare to the dingy town, but the differences can become overwhelming and we watch as many of the travelers retreat to the safety of the bus. For those brave enough to press forward, they huddle together as the people of this land approach. They are people who can only be described as those filled with a great light whose appearance was very grand and seemingly ageless. “One gets glimpses…of that which is ageless – heavy thought in the face of an infant, and frolic childhood in that of a very old man.” The wisdom, joy and light of those things eternal and close to God fill this place beyond the dingy town with wonders that Lewis will explore in the remainder of his tale.