Short Reflection on The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis

I just finished The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis. I found it a little more complicated than it needed to be. Perhaps the things he thought would make things crystal clear just weren't that helpful for me. On a side note, I have come both to appreciate Lewis and disagree with him as I've become more mature in my theology. I appreciate his ability to frame things relationally; I disagree with his Platonism-lite. But three notions stuck out from this last work (I am putting some stuff in quotations, but it might not be a direct quote):

1. Because we are creatures we are in need of many things. Just as a child needs love from its mother, so do we humans need love from God. "Our existence is really just one vast need," says Lewis.

2. There is no way to avoid risk in love. If you love, it's a risk. You can lock up your heart and shut it away in a chest. If it never comes out, it will grow cold and hard--but it will be protected. Lewis makes the point quite well, then, when he says, "The only place to be safe from the dangers of love outside of heaven is hell."

3. If the universe is structured around love, which it surely is if the Creator is a loving triune being, then we should not be surprised to see love at work in places where there is no explicit confession of Christ. "Love is at work in people who know nothing of Him."