“But if suffering is good ought it not to be pursued rather than avoided? I answer that suffering is not good in itself. What is good in any painful experience is, for the sufferer, his submission to the will of God, and, for the spectators, the compassion aroused and the acts of mercy to which it leads.” (page 98) Lewis talked a lot about submission to God; self-surrender. It challenged me.
He called pain “sterilized or disinfected” evil. This means that it doesn’t proliferate itself like other evils or sins that must be repented of. Therefore, pain has an end. “but pain has no tendency, in its own right to proliferate. When it is over, it is over, and the natural sequel is joy.” (page 104) Hallelujah!
What I learned from Lewis was that God has paid me an “intolerable compliment” in his love for me. Because his love cannot tolerate sin, he must remove it from me—-mortification. Suffering is one of the many ways he restores me to my original design of dependent trust or self-surrender. Self-surrender is not something I will do on my own. God must continually bring me to it. My cancer has done some of this work; I pray I will continue to cooperate with the Great Artist as he perfects the painting that is me.
I hope your interest is peeked and you’ll read this little book. I’d enjoy hearing about it.
Grace to you,
jane
Quotes taken from: The Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis, Collins Fontana Books, c. 1974
On the Greisen Side of Life 
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