When I started reading The Great Divorce, this portrayal of Heaven astounded me. I know Lewis is not saying this is what Heaven really is like, but it astounded me nonetheless. It seems like such a scary place! In my head I saw a large expansion of a field that went on forever. The field almost looked like it had just frosted over, being very pointy and unwelcoming. I put myself in the author’s place and imagined that if I was in this “Heaven,” I wouldn’t dare to move. Then I thought back to the Gray Town and thought, “None of this is appealing!” Maybe that’s what Lewis was trying to get at. If you’re not “meant” for Heaven, maybe the idea is appealing, but in reality it’s not? Most of the Ghosts don’t even want to be there; they just come to find a loved one or something. The Spirits know the wonders and greatness of it all, so they try to convince the Ghosts to stay. But, if it’s not appealing to the Ghosts, if they only see it as a death trap, why would they stay? It’s curious to me that Lewis is suggesting that some people don’t really have a desire to be in Heaven. Maybe they think they do, but that desire is really for something other than Heaven. I don’t know what.
My favorite part of the book was at the end when we were introduced to Sarah Smith. I loved the line in chapter 12 where Lewis says, “And now the abundance of life she has in Christ from the Father flows over into them.” I love the idea of that abundance of life in Christ, and it’s my heart’s desire to experience that abundance in my own life and let it flow out to those around me. It really struck me as I read it. Then, later in the chapter, Sarah says, “What needs could I have…now that I have all? I am full now, not empty. I am in Love Himself, not lonely. Strong, not weak.” That’s where I want to be. In God Himself. In Love.
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