Lewis surrenders

If I had to choose a favorite C.S. Lewis book it would be Surprised by Joy and if I had to choose a favorite paragraph it would be the one describing his conversion to Deism (his belief in the fact that Jesus was the Son of God would come a bit later). It's really the climax of the entire book. The last line of it reminds me of Romans 11:22 where the Apostle Paul speaks of the "kindness" and "severity" of God. It seems that Lewis experienced both on this fateful night.

You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England. I did not then see what is now the most shining and obvious thing; the Divine humility which will accept a convert even on such terms. The Prodigal Son at least walked home on his own feet. But who can duly adore that Love which will open the high gates to a prodigal who is brought in kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance of escape? The words compelle intrare, compel them to come in, have been so abused by wicked men that we shudder at them; but, properly understood, they plumb the depth of the Divine mercy. The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of men, and His compulsion is our liberation. (C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life)

In the "for what it's worth" department...while Surprised by Joy is my favorite CSL book--the one that gives me the most sheer pleasure--it's far from his best. That honor goes to The Four Loves. It's there that, in my opinion, Lewis's imaginative and analytical gifts come together most perfectly. It's required reading for anyone interested in the subject of love. That would be everyone, right?