Unbending

Christianity teaches us that "the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam" (Mosiah 3:19). In other words, because of the Fall of Adam, we are born into a telestial world as “natural” or “fallen” creatures and the task of life is to be raised up—to become spiritual and saved creatures. 

 

I like the way C. S. Lewis explains it, "Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms" (Lewis, Mere Christianity, p. 59). Lewis goes on to explain why this is so important. "A creature revolting against a creator is revolting against the source of his own powers-including even his power to revolt. . . . It is like the scent of a flower trying to destroy the flower." 

 

In another of Lewis's works, a science fiction story entitled Out of the Silent Planet, Lewis uses a word to describe our fallen condition that I like better than carnal or fallen. Lewis says we are “bent.” When the scientist, Ransom, describes the dangerous motives of other space travelers to the inhabitants of the planet Malachandra, he says they are “bent” which implies that they are distorted rather than broken and something that is bent can usually be bent back or corrected.

 

I like this because it gives me a mental picture of me bent with sin and my Savior straightening me out. Yes, it is painful at times, but if I hang in there and don’t resist, I will be straightened. I will be saved. I like that a lot.

Being Succored

I wanted to share today one of my favorite quotes from C. S. Lewis: 

“No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. . . . You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness — they have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means — the only complete realist.”

On days when I’m feeling overwhelmed, I remember this quote and it reminds me not only that I am not alone, but that my Savior, who walks with me through life, knows exactly what I am feeling not because He has studied it or learned about it but because He has experienced it. AND that means He knows how to help me. He has conquered whatever I am battling against and He knows how to withstand it! 

As Paul says, “For in that [Jesus Christ] himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18). Succor mean to “run under” which gives me the mental image of my Savior holding me aloft in order to help me through my trials, temptations, and battles.

Oh, how grateful I am for a Savior!

Saving Attitude

Yesterday we celebrated the Resurrection of the Savior and the life He has made possible for us. Today I am celebrating the fact that He has invited me and you to be part of His work. We do it daily whether we are changing a diaper, disciplining a child, or visiting an ailing friend. In anything we do, if we do it with love and with an eye to His glory, we are helping in His work. What a trust He has placed in us!

President John Taylor once said that “we are here as saviors of men” (JD, 24:268). While Jesus Christ is our Savior, to help in His work means that we are to be saviors also. Note that our being saviors is savior with a small “s”, and is different that the great work He did, but in some ways similar. A savior is someone who does something for others that they cannot do for themselves. Obviously we could not save ourselves from sin and death, but He could. But how do we act as saviors?

As women we give life to others—something they cannot do for themselves. As men we administer the life-giving ordinances to others—something they cannot do for themselves. As followers of Christ, we do temple work for those who were unable to do it for themselves. Anytime we do things for others that they cannot do for themselves, we are acting as a savior thus the mundane task of changing a diaper or feeding a newborn is a saving act.

There is something beautiful that happens inside us as we go about our days with this realization. What could be dismissed as a trivial act becomes a glorious opportunity and can feed our souls with joy and delight depending on how we approach the task. When we think of ourselves as saviors helping in The Savior’s work, life is different.