Feet to the fire

"Is any pleasure on earth as great as a circle of Christian friends by a fire?" C.S. Lewis

When I encountered this quote yesterday my brain went immediately to this place of comfort and safety. One of my favorite spots in this world is sitting in a flimsy lawn chair on a cold mountain night; surrounded by friends, my tired feet propped up by the campfire ring. The campfire blazing away, warming my face, the orange light flickering on the dark forest behind me, thick pine smoke filling my nostrils and stinging my eyes. The ephemeral campfire experience, what can be better than that?


The last month or two I have been bombarded by C.S. Lewis. Every time I turn around, more C.S. Lewis wisdom heading my way. It started with Ben Patterson, then David Abdo, followed closely by Jamie Evans, last Sunday, it was the youth pastor Greg. When we saw Revenge of the Sith, they played the Chronicles of Narnia trailer beforehand. Even my prayer partner John stumbled on one the last time we met. When I am bombarded with a common theme, I need to sit up and listen because God is speaking to me.

So anyway, C.S. Lewis is no shallow slouch. And though I like my visceral interpretation of his quote, I'm wondering what Mr Lewis intended when he wrote it. Maybe C S Lewis never went to camp, maybe he's talking about an altogether different kind of fire.

Yet He knows the way I have taken;
when He has tested me, I will emerge as pure gold. -Job 23:10