In The Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis, one of the most renowned Christian authors and thinkers, examines a universally applicable question within the human condition: “If God is good and all-powerful, why does he allow his creatures to suffer pain?” With his signature wealth of compassion and insight, C.S. Lewis offers answers to these crucial questions and shares his hope and wisdom to help heal a world hungering for a true understanding of human nature.
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CS Lewis tackles the question of pain and evil with such tact and sensitivity with this book. Was particularly struck by the portion when he talked about Divine Humility, of God wanting us back even when we view him as our last straw when all else falls apart in our lives. This book isn’t just good when trying to craft a response to skeptics but good for understanding personal pain in light of a good, loving, and holy God.
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Even though I read this book along with Letters of a Skeptic to tackle some questions of my friends and my dad, I think this book was personally more valuable. Through a thorough understanding of God’s true love and divine goodness, I once again learn that through pain and suffering I am being shaped into someone to be used for his divine purpose was precious for me.
“Love, in its own nature, demands the perfecting of the beloved; that the mere ‘kindness’ which tolerates anything except suffering in its object is, in that respect, at the opposite pole from Love.”
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CS Lewis considered the problem of pain from many different angles, some of which I have never thought about before (for example, animal suffering). I think what really strikes me is his idea that every single acts in this world, be it good or evil, is used by God toward an ultimately good purpose. We are all used by God toward the ultimate good, but it is up to us to decide whether we want to be used as His tool or as His child. This book caused me to reflect on my own attitude toward suffering, where I was reminded that only through the dying to the self can God fill us with His presence.
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CS Lewis address suffering and pain on an intellectual level. It was clarifying to recognize that there is complex good in this world, good that God brings from simple evil in this world. I highly recommend anyone to read this book who struggles with the idea of pain.
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