John Scott- Biscuit Tin Lid

C.S. Lewis was a great champion of great art. He has an early memory where his brother brought in a biscuit tin lid filled with moss and dirt and created a toy garden that was the image of the forest. This gave him his first understanding of art and his first concept of what Paradise was. Instead of looking to the Big Picture in order to confirm his art, the art informed his understanding of Paradise and joy. He writes, "If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” Looking at this image of the toy garden that his brother made somehow he saw its beauty and its inability to satisfy his needs. He then looked to the world and all the bigness that is contained in the forest and the wilderness. He then found no joy there. Later, he looked to God and to paradise to inform his decision to know and trust God for his life. It is incredible to me that art is so powerful. Something that is so innocent, cheap and simple can cause to think of the most complex and expensive things in the world. It is here that Lewis shows the Gospel and gives some true flavor to my experience as a Christian. Have the simple lead me toward the throne of God. It is here that God often tries to reveal himself. Not in the loud noises, thunder or earthquakes is the divine revealed, but in the gentle whispers.