The cool thing to do

C.S. Lewis writes in Mere Christianity that there are many situations where it’s cool to pretend. Like when you wake up grouchy but start pretending to be well-composed and content when you arrive at work, or even like how Bell (in a way) pretended that the Beast was actually a man when she kissed him. And so by pretending, things start to become something that they’re not. Suddenly you find yourself well-composed and content after a few minutes at work, or amazingly the Beast you were kissing turns out, like you pretended – use your imagination – to be a Man. The point of those examples is that sometimes it’s cool to pretend because in those moments you realize that you haven’t much to lose in doing so.
I’m starting to understand why some of my favorite movies are The Incredibles and Lord of the Rings and Tommy Boy. It’s because the fantastic become reality! On a daily basis I can’t go around saving my family or my middle-earth or my business, but every day I am approached with moments that will totally test my faith in the things that I know are right.
For me, though, I realized that my faith has changed so much over the years that I’ve become a totally different person. This section was in the “Let’s Pretend” chapter of Mere Christianity:
“When a young man who has been going to church in a routine way honestly realizes that he does not believe in Christianity and stops going – provided he does it for honesty’s sake and not just to annoy his parents – the spirit of Christ is probably nearer to him then than it ever was before.”
The first time I read that I must have missed it, because when I read it recently I was totally stirred from the core. Looking into my own life, I can see how it was the act of not going to church that sort of put my faith into action; I didn’t believe that attending church was bringing me any closer to God’s kingdom, and He let me go down that route. And it was on that route that I discovered how absolutely powerful God is, and how much grace He is capable of, and how much in need I am of fellowship! With not much to lose, I found something new that was worth selling everything I have just to keep it.

Anyhow, pretending isn’t just for kids, and it’s definitely not just a toy ;) I wonder what the people listening to Jesus speak must have thought when He asked them, “Just pretend for a second,” before laying out some awesome parables.