Go therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…Matthew 28:19

The great Christian apologist C.S. Lewis became a Christian while riding a motorcycle to the zoo and was over 30 years old. No moving sermon, no gospel reading. Just friends and a motorcycle.

Lewis went on an after-dinner walk with his friends J.R.R. Tolkien and Hugo Dyson along the picturesque Addison’s Walk trail on the grounds of Magdalen College, and they talked about God, faith, and mythological stories. J.R.R. Tolkien convinced Lewis of Christ being the Son of God by arguing, “the gospel is a true myth” — a myth that actually happened in history.

Nine days later, on September 28, 1931, Lewis experienced the fullness of faith that completed his conversion. Inexplicably, it happened during a motorcycle ride to the Whipsnade Zoo with his brother. He describes the event in his book Surprised by Joy: “When we set out I did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo I did.”

And this is how we have one of the greatest Christian apologists of the 20th century. The Enemy cannot keep what God has in store for his plan for redemption and the church. The bureaucracy of Hell can be working with fervor against mankind and Heaven is still in control. Lewis’ books remain fabulously popular today. Imagine if his friends had not gone on that walk with him.

One lesson from Lewis’s conversion story is that the hard work of evangelism often happens in the context of friendship. It is important to have friends who don’t

think as we do, or even share our Christian faith. Heaven works in mysterious ways.

Pray

Heavenly Father, Guide our way with courage to speak the high calling of making disciples of those we encounter and bless our friendships with holiness. All honor and glory to Jesus our Savior. Amen