Seeing Myself As A Ghost

As I read through The Great Divorce, I realized I saw a little of myself in each of the ghosts in each chapter. And to be honest, I feel a little worried and scared about looking at my own reflection of whom I am here on Earth. In Chapter 5, Lewis meets the fat ghost who is just so caught up in religion that he doesn’t truly know Christ. So often I realize how bound I am to the law and try to live a perfect life, but I forget Christ and what He did for me on the cross. I forget that we are to live by grace and faith, not by law. If we were expected to live by law, Christ would never have had to come. In Chapter 8, we meet the woman who is so shameful of herself. She can’t bear going with the Spirit because she sees and feels the extreme distance between the spirits and the ghosts. How often do I fear what others think of me? Almost every day. I could go on and on about how all of the ghosts somehow reflect a bit of my struggles here on Earth, but I have come to conclude after reading the book that our struggles and weaknesses aren’t the problem. Our heart and desire is the problem. In every chapter, the Ghosts and Spirits both had faults; they both made mistakes and fell short. The difference consisted of the Spirits desiring Jesus and the Ghosts desiring themselves and their own wants. As I think about this concept, I wonder where I am on this spiritual journey. If a Spirit were to ask me if I wanted to be in heaven or be in hell doing something I think “I love” to do, I’m not sure which I would choose. After thinking about the different concepts Lewis reveals in The Great Divorce, I wonder if Lewis sees himself in the ghosts as well. Or I wonder if he has met many of “the Ghosts” on his journey on Earth. But overall, the book has allowed God to convict me and help me to understand the importance of getting to know who He is. Loving God is the greatest commandment, and The Great Divorce has redirected my heart back to what Christianity is really all about.