Navigating Faith After Conversion
Have you ever wondered why being a new Christian is both exhilarating and, soon after, unexpectedly challenging? It feels like stepping into a new life where everything seems fresh, hopeful, and meaningful. But then, sooner or later, reality sets in. The emotional high of conversion doesn’t last forever, and instead, you face some uncomfortable truths about yourself, the church, and your fellow believers. That’s what C.S. Lewis digs into in The Screwtape Letters, especially in the second letter, and it’s what we’re exploring today.
The Early Days of Faith: Not as Secure as You’d Think
In The Screwtape Letters, Lewis paints a vivid picture of how a new Christian is still very much in the danger zone. When Screwtape, a senior demon, hears that Wormwood’s “patient” has become a Christian, his initial reaction is not panic. Instead, he says, “There is no need to despair. Hundreds of these adult converts have been reclaimed after a brief sojourn in the enemy’s camp.” In other words, just because someone has become a Christian doesn’t mean the enemy’s influence is gone. The fight for that person’s soul continues, and one of the key weapons used is habit.
Habits are a big deal. As Screwtape notes, even though the person has turned toward God, “all the habits of the patient, both mental and bodily, are still in our favor.” This is where things get real. The old habits, patterns of thought, ways of reacting, and lifestyle choices are still pointing in the opposite direction of God. Habits shape who we are, and until those begin to change, a new believer is incredibly vulnerable.
Think about it this way: when you first start a new workout routine, it’s exciting. You feel motivated and energized. But after a while, the excitement fades, and the routine becomes, well, a routine. Without a strong set of habits backing up your initial enthusiasm, it’s easy to fall back into the old couch-potato lifestyle. The same thing can happen in our spiritual lives.
The Church: Ideal vs. Reality
Screwtape goes on to point out that one of the biggest allies they have against a new Christian is… brace yourself… the church itself. Now, he’s not talking about the universal Church as God sees it which is the Body of Christ, spread throughout time and space, united in eternity. That vision of the Church is “as terrible as an army with banners,” and it makes even the boldest demons uneasy. No, Screwtape is talking about the local church; the group of people we gather with every week. The people who, if we’re honest, we might not naturally gravitate toward outside of church walls.
The patient might hear phrases like “the community of saints” or “the family of God,” but these ideas are still abstract to him. Instead, Screwtape advises Wormwood to make his patient focus on the flawed, quirky people sitting in the pews next to him. The person who sings off-key. The new mom who refuses to take her crying baby to the nursery. The people who come and go during moments of prayer or silent reflection. All of these small, trivial annoyances can be used to make the new Christian think, “If these are God’s people, then maybe this whole faith thing isn’t as great as I thought.”
It’s a subtle but effective tactic, and many of us have been there. Maybe you’ve walked into a church and immediately noticed how different everyone was from you. Maybe you’ve thought, “These aren’t my kind of people.” It’s easy to let those impressions turn into judgment, and suddenly, church feels less like a community of love and more like a collection of awkward, mismatched individuals. And that’s exactly what the enemy wants for us, to take our focus off of Jesus and put it on each other’s flaws.
The High and the Hard Work
Another challenge new believers face is the inevitable drop in enthusiasm after the initial conversion experience. There’s this incredible joy at first, but after a few weeks or months, it starts to fade, and you’re left with the real work of being a Christian. Screwtape puts it like this: “The Enemy allows this disappointment to occur at the threshold of every human endeavor.” It’s not just about faith, it’s about any significant new experience. Falling in love is exhilarating, but building a marriage takes work. Starting a new job can be thrilling, but soon you have to deal with the daily grind. The same is true of faith.
So why does God allow this? Screwtape has an answer for that too: “He has a curious fantasy of making these disgusting little vermin into what He calls His free lovers and servants.” In simpler terms, God wants us to love him freely, not because of an emotional high. He doesn’t want to manipulate us into following him by making everything easy all the time. He wants us to choose him, even when it’s hard. This kind of love, genuine, chosen love, is far more meaningful.
God isn’t like a helicopter parent who tries to shield us from every difficulty. He allows us to face challenges and disappointments because he knows that’s how we grow. He knows that if we can get through those initial tough times, our faith will be stronger, less dependent on fleeting feelings, and more deeply rooted in who he is.
Getting Past Disappointment
Screwtape also talks about how to exploit a new Christian’s disappointment with the people around them. It’s easy for Wormwood to make his patient judge others in the pews, especially if they see faults that seem obvious, someone who’s stingy, or has a temper, or spends too much time on trivial pursuits. But Screwtape advises Wormwood to keep one crucial thought out of the patient’s mind: “If I, being what I am, can consider myself a Christian, why should the different vices of those people in the next pew prove that their religion is mere hypocrisy?”
That’s a powerful reminder for all of us. It’s easy to see the flaws in others while excusing our own. We need to remember that we are all works in progress. The closer we get to true humility, the more we can extend grace to the people around us, recognizing that they, like us, are on a journey of transformation.
The Real Work of Faith
If you’re in that place right now, if the initial excitement of your faith has faded, or if you’re feeling disillusioned by the people around you, take heart. This is part of the journey. God isn’t absent; he’s allowing you to grow, to develop a faith that isn’t based on feelings or on the people in the next pew but on him alone. It’s in these moments of dryness and challenge that our faith becomes real.
Faith isn’t about sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows. It’s about loving God when things are hard, trusting him when he feels distant, and choosing him even when the church around you feels messy. And remember, we’re all in this together, a community of imperfect people loved by a perfect God, trying our best to follow Jesus, one step at a time.