Excerpted with permission from Experiencing God in Everyday Life Bible Study by Richard Blackaby, Mike Blackaby, and Daniel Blackaby. Copyright 2026, Lifeway Press.
C.S. Lewis (1898–1963) was a brilliant intellectual and author. He taught at both Oxford University and Cambridge University and wrote several classic books including Mere Christianity and The Chronicles of Narnia series.
For many years, Lewis was a bachelor who immersed himself in his academic career. By age nine, he claimed to be an atheist, but he eventually gravitated toward theism and ultimately to Christianity. He then devoted his considerable mental powers to promoting Christian beliefs.
Not shy to tackle difficult questions, he wrote The Problem of Pain (1940), in which he presented an insightful explanation for one of humanity’s most pressing and confusing questions: Why does God allow pain and suffering? The book was well thought out, carefully argued, and cogently presented.
Then, something surprising, marvelous, and life-changing happened: Lewis met an American named Joy Gresham and ultimately married her on April 23, 1956. Lewis was 57 years old. He had known the love of family and friends before, but for the first time in his life, he encountered romantic love.
Tragically, Joy succumbed to a battle with cancer only four years after their marriage. The loss took Lewis to levels of grief he had never before experienced. He subsequently wrote another book, reflecting on his loss, entitled A Grief Observed. This book was much different than The Problem of Pain he had written 23 years earlier.
In his earlier book, he wrote about pain as a “problem” to be evaluated, discussed, and understood. It was largely an intellectual exercise. But in his later book, Lewis wrote from a place of emotion and grief. While both books sought answers from God, in the first, Lewis sought answers for his mind.
In the second, he found solace for his heart. Lewis found two ways to understand and relate to God. Both were legitimate, and each brought comfort in different ways. God created people as spiritual beings who experience Him through intellect and emotion.
Some heights of understanding can only be reached with our minds. Other deep places can only be engaged with and discovered by our affections. Profound spiritual experiences often transcend human understanding. To fully love God with our whole selves, we must engage every part of who we are in our effort to know and experience our Creator. Every person is a union of body and soul, of heart and mind.