"Dressing up as Christ"

               I have been listening to C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity in my car.  Today, I listened to “Let’s Pretend”, Chapter 7 in Beyond Personality.  Mere Christianity is a compilation of a series of radio commentaries.  It actually encompasses four books that were published separately in the 1940’s.

               The topic of this chapter touches on something that I have recently thought about in relation to my Christian growth.  And it gives me some insight to why my list of sins has shifted over the years of frequent confession. 

               In “Let’s Pretend”, Lewis writes, “But there is the good kind (of pretending), where the pretense leads up to the real thing. When you are not feeling friendly but know you ought to be, the best thing you can do is to put on a friendly manner and behave as if you were a nicer person than you actually are. And in a few minutes, we have all noticed, you will really feel friendlier than you were.  Often the only way to get a quality in reality is to start behaving as if you had it already. . . .

               “Now, the moment you realize ‘here I am, dressing up as Christ,’ it is extremely likely that you will see at once some way in which that very moment of pretense could be made less of a pretense and more of a reality. . . . You see what is happening. The Christ Himself, the Son of God who is a man (just like you) and God (just like His Father) is actually at your side and is already at that moment beginning to turn your pretense into a reality.”

               As I confess my sins, often my list is similar from time to time.  I keep a list of the sins I confess and the confessor in the back of my journal.  Recently, I have thought that over time the list of sins had changed a great deal.  In looking back over that list, I knew I was onto something.  That indeed, something was changing inside me that allowed me to more introspective and honest.

               Then, hearing Lewis this week, I could only think, “That’s it!”  As I try to be a poor imitator of Christ, the Lord is working within me to help me become more Christ like.  I am more aware of my selfishness and pride, leading me to confess more and more specific sins and to realize that I am making some progress toward becoming a better person.

               I am grateful for the Lord’s work in me and will continue to play “Let’s Pretend”, trying to dress up as Christ.  If you have not read Mere Christianity recently, think about delving into the thoughts of this wise convert to Christianity. It time would be well spent.