I refer, of course, to his first book for children, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In that book, four children, Susan, and Peter, and Lucy, and Edmond play Hide and Seek in the large, rambling home of an old professor. Lucy tries to hide in the wardrobe, what we would call a closet. As she feels her way through coat after coat she suddenly notices that it is not wool coats after all that press in around her; it is the prickly pines of trees, and underneath, it is ground covered with snow. And ahead, there is a lighted lamp post. So Lucy discovers Narnia.

Thus begin the Chronicles of Narnia, seven stories in seven books -- Prince Caspian, The Silver Chair, The Horse and his Boy, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the Magicians Nephew, and The Last Battle.

If you have not read these to your children, leave now and hurry to the bookstore. If you have not bought these for your grandchildren, don't wait another moment. You are free to leave. I offer the invitation this very moment. It was, after all, a deep conviction of Mr. Lewis himself, that it is far superior to read a famous and important book than to hear another person talk about it, or even to read something about it. It is Christmas time and here is the answer to your search for gifts.

There is nothing better than to begin life with a few good books. And these are good books!

Lewis has described all of the essential elements of the Christian world using the imaginary world of Narnia. There is the white witch, who has cast a spell on the land, making it, as they say, always winter but never Christmas; there is Asian the lion, the Christ figure, whose gentle ferocity mirrors both the mercy and wrath of God. There are animals and battles, courage and treachery, victory and defeat. And this is just the beginning. The mind and the imagination are forever reshaped by the reading of these seven stories.

Lewis is not the first to employ the imagination in the cause of the gospel. Baptist preacher John Bunyan wrote Pilgrim's Progress. It is the remarkable story of Christian and his journey from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City, with stops at such places as the Interpreter's House and Vanity Fair. English poet John Milton created Paradise Lost, and Paradise Regained, providing much of our medieval imagery about heaven and hell. And what of John, exiled on the island of Patmos, writing down the vision given to him. We call it The Revelation of Jesus Christ. It is full of angels and animals, death and destruction, weal and woe. It is the last book of our Bible, but it may be first in interest and influence.

Think of our Lord himself, always telling stories, drawing the imagination into the search for truth and meaning, creating such famous characters as the good Samaritan, the shepherd looking for the one lost sheep, the man who built his house upon the sand, and the publican who went into the temple to pray and could only stand afar off and say, "Lord, be merciful to me a sinner."