Book to share - December 2025

C.S. Lewis didn’t pretend pain makes sense. He didn’t pretend faith dissolves suffering. Reading him will feel like talking to someone who has walked through their own darkness and understands how heavy life can feel. There are in essence seven sentiments to go through:

1. Pain is not about God’s cruelty, but it’s indeed part of our world built on freedom because true love requires freedom that makes both joy and pain possible. In short, God doesn't delight in our suffering;

2. Suffering can awaken the soul and here Lewis talks about "God’s megaphone", not as a punishment, but as a way to bring truth into our lives when all else fails to reach us. In short, it deepens us quietly, often unwillingly;

3. Human love is fragile, divine love is relentless. Lewis distinguishes between the love humans give and the love of God, which reshapes us with patience and purpose. In short, we're held close by something greater than our own capacity to understand;

4. Pain is not evenly distributed, and that mystery is very much part of what pain is. Lewis acknowledges the unfairness of pain and invites humility for not everything is meant to be solved;

5. Our resistance to suffering often deepens the wound. Instinctly human beings want to fight pain with anger or denial, but this kind of resisting what already is only magnifies suffering. Actively accepting can not only soothe the heart but also create the necessary space for healing;

6. Faith is nothing like certainty, but it’s always a trust in the dark. Faith, Lewis wrote, is choosing to trust when answers are painfully absent. It is indeed not a feeling, but a posture of the soul;

7. Love, even when it hurts, is worth everything. Lewis concludes that much of our pain is intertwined with the depth of our love. Grief, loss, longing are the shadows cast by the brightest light.

Yes, to suffer is, in the end or rather in some way, to have loved. And love, according to Lewis, in all its bruising and brilliance, is the sacred core of being human

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RisingMorningStar7 · 36-40, M

I have suffer psychologically but not in pain. I think i rather read more on mother theresa

val70 · 51-55

@RisingMorningStar7 🤔 Mother Teresa experienced profound psychological pain,
described as a "dark night of the soul," characterized by intense loneliness, a feeling of God's absence, and deep spiritual desolation, yet she framed this suffering as a sacred "kiss of Jesus," a profound spiritual gift and sign of closeness to Him, encouraging others to embrace suffering for Christ, though she herself preferred advanced medical care in her final days. Her spiritual writings reveal a decades-long inner struggle, a sense of being unloved and forsaken by God, which scholars interpret as potentially linked to mental illness or a spiritual crisis, influencing her view of suffering as a path to holiness and union with Christ. However, her approach to suffering has been heavily criticized psychologically because she glorified pain as a spiritual good, which led to the alleged denial of adequate pain relief and medical care in her hospices. Critics argue this worldview inflicted unnecessary psychological and physical torment on her patients

RisingMorningStar7 · 36-40, M

@val70 her quotes dont say that. Suffering and struggling can only get you closer to God, if by making my pain immune makes forget of God then my suffering has no meaning. Thats why Job was able to experience some stuff

val70 · 51-55

@RisingMorningStar7 Does one really need to believe that one is tested by God daily? I'm sure that only by looking what the prophets told us we know already how to conduct ourselves. It's self-evident that one shouldn't consider life as a test but actually as a gift and a gateway

RisingMorningStar7 · 36-40, M

@val70 is life a gift if you end up in hell? Does God Test people sure he does? The only thing is better if you suffer in this life than the next.

val70 · 51-55

@RisingMorningStar7 Free-will is also God's gift. You really should read more. There are tests, we are tested, but life isn't a test

RisingMorningStar7 · 36-40, M

@val70 life is a test and only the loser fails the test.

RisingMorningStar7 · 36-40, M

@val70 life is viewed as a journey or a test, not in a punitive sense, but as a spiritual formation process where challenges (trials, suffering, temptations) serve to develop faith, virtue, love for God, and dependence on Him, preparing us for eternity and purifying our souls, with Jesus's own testing as the model for overcoming. These tests reveal our character and strengthen our resolve, helping us grow closer to God and become more like Christ.

RisingMorningStar7 · 36-40, M

@val70 anyway i cant deal with protestanism mental gymnastics

val70 · 51-55

@RisingMorningStar7 Life is something completely different to what there will be afterwards. Only by acceptance that life is here and now to live, well, that's only way to further oneself. Does one need to accept suffering? No, because one needs to stay whole for what's important. Love God and thy neighbour. It's never about yourself but your conduct towards others. The issue about rich people isn't one about them being rich but them not spending enough time to the needy