Seeing by the Light of Christ

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to worship alongside my church family and sit under the teaching of the Word. Pastor Dennis, the Executive Pastor at Cornerstone, preached from John 8 on the second of Jesus’ seven “I am” statements in the Gospel of John.

In his sermon, Pastor Dennis included a quote from C.S. Lewis—one that is popular because it is so powerful:

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen not only because I see it but because by it I see everything else.”*

I love this quote, not just for its beauty, but because of the man behind it. Today, C.S. Lewis is best known for The Chronicles of Narnia, a beloved series of children’s books. But to those familiar with his life and writings, he represents far more than a skilled storyteller for kids.

Lewis was a literary scholar who held positions at both Oxford and Cambridge. More significantly, he was an atheist turned Anglican, largely due to the patient and faithful witness of friends like Hugo Dyson and J.R.R. Tolkien. His journey to faith wasn’t one of preference or blind belief, but of deep wrestling.

For years, Lewis objected to Christianity on intellectual grounds. He was convinced that the God of the Bible and the story of redemption were merely myths designed to comfort those who embraced them. Yet, after rigorous questioning and exploration, he found himself irresistibly drawn to the truth of the gospel.

Like Lewis, I’ve had my own journey through doubt. I remember wrestling—sometimes in tears—over the faith my parents passed down to me and that my church nurtured in me. I remember the agony of wondering whether Jesus, who had been my closest friend since childhood, was merely a product of my imagination.

Lewis’s writings helped me in that season. His book Mere Christianity brought me inside the mind of this 20th-century titan and helped me overcome many of the doubts I was facing. In his brilliant simplicity, Lewis showed me that Christianity is not opposed to reason, but invites thinking, logical, and rational people to fully embrace it. He dismantled the notion that intelligence and faith are incompatible.

And that’s why I love his quote so much. It doesn’t just attest to Lewis’ faith—it reorients everything around Christ. Pastor Dennis reminded us yesterday that Jesus, as the Light of the World, is not just someone we see but the One by whom we see everything else. Without Him, the world would be dark—void of light, truth, and meaning.

The One who gives us light deserves to be first. Just as the sun is the center of our solar system, Jesus should be the center of our lives. He is the reason we can see. And because of Him, we can see everything else.

---

*Lewis, so the undefeated internet tells me, included that line in a paper he gave to The Oxford Socratic Club entitled, Is Theology Poetry?