When it comes to my favorite Christian quotes, most of mine are from C.S. Lewis. No other writer has had a greater impact on my imagination and view of God’s greatness.

Lewis’ children’s series, The Chronicles of Narnia, made me see my childhood as a world full of magic and surprise. The Screwtape Letters made me take the devil more seriously than any scary illustration I had seen growing up. And Mere Christianity helped me hold onto my faith in college when I wasn’t sure how to respond to my philosophy professor’s questions that were far above my head (but not Lewis’).

Here are 25 of my favorite C.S. Lewis quotes with credit to The Deseret News, which compiled 100 of Lewis’ best quotes and helped me speed my search along.

1. “Since it is so likely that children will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage.” — “On Stories: And Other Essays on Literature”

2. “No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.” — “A Grief Observed”

3. “To love at all is to be vulnerable.” — “The Four Loves”

4. “No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good.” — “Mere Christianity”

5. “Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back, everything is different…” — “Prince Caspian”

6. “When we Christians behave badly, or fail to behave well, we are making Christianity unbelievable to the outside world.” — “Mere Christianity”

7. “It is safe to tell the pure in heart that they shall see God, for only the pure in heart want to.” — “The Problem of Pain”

8. “God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.” — “Mere Christianity”

9. “What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are.” — “The Magician’s Nephew”

10. “The instrument through which you see God is your whole self. And if a man’s self is not kept clean and bright, his glimpse of God will be blurred.” — “Mere Christianity”

11. “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” — “Mere Christianity”

12. “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” — “The Problem of Pain”

13. “When Christ died, he died for you individually just as much as if you had been the only person in the world.” — “Mere Christianity”

14. “We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade, the presence of God. The world is crowded with him. He walks everywhere incognito.” — “Letters to Malcolm”

15. “Of all the bad men, religious bad men are the worst.” — “Reflections on the Psalms” (1964)

16. “If God had granted all the silly prayers I’ve made in my life, where should I be now?” — “Letters to Malcolm”

17. “Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive.” — “Mere Christianity”

18. “Once in our world, a stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world.” — “The Last Battle”

19. “It cost God nothing, so far as we know, to create nice things: but to convert rebellious wills cost him crucifixion.” — Mere Christianity

20. “Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you do, and you will presently come to love him.” — “Mere Christianity”

21. “God allows us to experience the low points of life in order to teach us lessons that we could learn in no other way.” — “The Problem of Pain”

22. “Christianity, if false, is of no importance and, if true, is of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important.” — “God In The Dock”

23. “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.” — “Mere Christianity”

24. “To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” — “Essays on Forgiveness”

25. “Don’t let your happiness depend on something you may lose.” — “The Four Loves” (1960)