Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him…’ LUKE 24:31

I love hearing how people come to Christ. There is nothing more powerful to me than testimony.

I read the following wonderful conversion story this morning in my UCB notes and wanted to share it with you:

“He was a militant non-believer, who summed up his worldview with a verse from Lucretius: ‘Had God designed the world, it would not be a world so frail and faulty as we see.’ So Jack turned his attention to academia, excelling in each field he studied. Soon the dons of Oxford took him in as a respected peer and he began to write and teach. Yet, far beneath the surface, his doubts were taking their toll.

He described his mental state with words like ‘misery and hopelessness’. He said, ‘I maintained God did not exist. I was also angry with God for not existing.’

Then two friends, also Oxford dons, J R R Tolkien and H V V Dyson, both devout followers of Christ, urged him to do something he’d surprisingly never done: read the Bible. So he did. Jack began to wrestle with the claims Christ made, concluding that He was either deluded, deceptive, or the very One He claimed to be, the Son of God. On the evening of September 19, 1931, Jack and his two friends took a long walk through the Oxford campus. They talked late into the night. And Jack, C S ‘Jack’ Lewis, would later recall a rush of wind that caused the first leaf to fall-a sudden breeze, which possibly came to symbolise for him the Holy Spirit. Soon after that night, Lewis became a believer. The change revolutionised his world and consequently the worlds of millions of readers.

Could it be this simple? Could the chasm between doubt and faith be spanned with Scripture and Christian fellowship?”

I am so inspired by this story today. One of my favourite authors and writers was loved into the kingdom by people prepared to challenge his world view and encourage him to read scripture for himself.

What challenges are you setting for your friends? Do you have people around you who seem to be miserable and hopeless? Perhaps you can take some time today to ask God what they need and then be prepared to offer it to them.

The word of God describes itself as “living and active.” It is not a dead story with no relevance. Once in someone’s hands, it could have huge impact. Who could you buy a New Testament or Bible for? If you work in an office, is there one on the coffee table? Do your kids see you reading your Bible regularly? If I stole it how long would it take you to notice?

I am encouraged today that perhaps something as simple as giving someone access to God’s word is enough. If it is enough for an intellectual giant like C.S Lewis, perhaps it is enough for the person you are lovingly praying for.