Especially since the release of the motion picture “Narnia”, many have become a fan of C. S. Lewis. Quite frankly, I was surprised at how many people I knew personally had never heard of him or some of his famous works (i.e. The Chronicles of Narnia, Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, etc.). I have been a Lewis fan since grade school. In fact, for my exit exam from middle school, I remember having to write a final paper that I did on the writings of C. S. Lewis. I am sure that paper has been long lost and though I passed the eighth grade, I am even more certain those pages were not worthy of crossing the great author’s desk. Even still, I’ve never lost my fascination of the man behind Narnia.
There are few figures in history that seem to stand out in terms of those you might say were without a doubt a person of great wisdom. And some would argue that with some of the controversial seasons of Lewis’ life, to place him among these “few” would be erroneous. I beg to differ. In fact, not only would I say Lewis was a man of profound wisdom; but, to use a relevant term for today, this man was “authentic.” This man said what he meant and meant what he said. He was real. He was human. And I admire that.
I recently acquired a book. No, not one of those 150 page lessons for the day books you find dozens of at every conference (by the way, I buy those books too). I’m talking, one of those books that you can see on the shelf from across the room. This book sits right next to my Hayford’s Bible Handbook and Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance. It’s called “The Quotable Lewis.” Its an encyclopedic selection of quotes from the complete published works of C. S. Lewis. Now this is stuff to chew on folks.
Well, now that I’ve bragged a bit about my main man Lewis, I’ll get to the inspiration for this blog entry. 
The following quote is tagged under Children’s Literature and I think has the fuel to ignite some practical thinking on how we do children’s ministry.
“I am almost inclined to set it up as a canon that a children’s story which is enjoyed only by children is a bad children’s story. The good ones last. A waltz which you can like only when you are waltzing is a bad waltz.”
I am curious: what do these words say to you about children’s ministry?
Fascinating quote.
To me, it speaks of the agelessness of Scripture. Children are impressionable and open to spiritual truths, but that doesn’t mean we have to water down the Word or make it childlike. When the Lord reaches into a heart–no matter what the age–it is life-changing. I can remember stories that influenced my childhood and when I think of them, they’re still a blessing.