Finding God In Narnia: Meet The Cast - Mr. & Mrs. Beaver Series

So…are you enjoying our journey through Narnia thus far? Last week Sandy, our Narnia tour guide, gave us a brief overview of the land of Narnia.

As you may be learning, Narnia is a far & distant land. First imagined in the mind of CS Lewis, it has now been visited by millions of readers since 1950. Narnia is a very different world from ours, but in many ways very similar!

Narnia is full of many intriguing creatures. Some very familiar to us… beavers, bears, field mice, rabbits, etc. Some not so familiar to us… centaurs, fawns (like Mr. Tumnus), dwarfs, giants, unicorns, etc.

A lot like earth, huh? Lots of people like you. Lots of people you don’t relate to!

Meet the Cast: MR. & MRS. BEAVER

Today, I want to introduce you to two of my favorite characters in LWW. I know Aslan is the star of Narnia, the Lord of the Woods...but for me, I’ve always had a special place in my heart for Mr. & Mrs. Beaver. As a matter of fact, over my last 20+ years of knowing LWW, I’ve grown to love Mr. & Mrs. Beaver.

Today, I want to tell you more about these characters and in the process, draw some key spiritual truths out of their stories. Truths that I hope will be as helpful to you as you continue your walk with God as they have been for me.

PRAY.

For you to fully appreciate LWW, you must understand something about Narnia. Under all the beauty of its’ peaceful winter scenes…NARNIA is at war! A world in crisis...under siege. In Narnia…ALL the creatures who live here have been drawn into the war.

Long ago, Narnia was created by Aslan. Son of the Great Emperor. But Jadis, the White Witch has invaded Narnia and ruled in evil destruction. It’s always winter and never Christmas. Jadis’ evil reign however has been resisted by many woodland animals. There is an underground level of communication that goes on behind the scenes.

Much like our world, on the surface, it can look beautiful & serene, but when the truth is known, Narnia is under siege…at war. It’s into this conflicted world of Narnia that Peter, Susan, Edmund & Lucy are drawn. One of the first Narnian creatures the children meet is Mr Beaver.

Read from LWW…

“Sh! Look!” said Susan.

What?” said Peter.

“There’s something moving among the trees over there to the left.”

They all stared as hard as they could, and no one felt very comfortable.

“There it goes again,” said Susan.

“I saw it that time too,” said Peter. “It’s still there. It’s just gone behind that big tree.”

“What is it?” asked Lucy, trying very hard not to sound nervous.

“Whatever it is,” said Peter, ‘”it’s dodging us. It’s something that doesn’t want to be seen.”

“It’s – it’s a kind of animal,” said Susan; and then, “Look! Look! Quick! There it is.”

They all saw it this time, a whiskered furry face which had looked out at them from behind a tree. But this time it didn’t immediately draw back. Instead, the animal put its paw against its mouth just as humans put their finger on their lips when they are signaling to you to be quiet. Then it disappeared again. The children all stood holding their breath.

A moment later the stranger came out from behind the tree, glanced all round as if it were afraid someone was watching, said, “Hush”, made signs to them to join it in the thicker bit of wood where it was standing, and then once more disappeared.

“I know what it is,” said Peter; “it’s a beaver. I saw the tail.”

“It wants us to go to it.” Said Susan, “and it is warning us not to make a noise.”

Only when it had led the children into a dark spot where four trees grew so close together that their boughs met and the brown earth and pine needles could be seen underfoot because no snow had been able to fall there, did the beaver begin to talk to them.

“Are you the Sons of Adam and the Daughters of Eve?” the beaver said.

“We’re some of them.” Said Peter.

‘S-s-s-h!” said the Beaver, “not so loud, please. We’re not safe even here.”

“Why, who are you afraid of?” said Peter. “There’s no one here but ourselves.”

“There are the trees,” said the Beaver. “They’re always listening. Most of them are on our side, but there are trees that would betray us to her; you know who I mean,” and nodded his head several times.

As you continue reading LWW...it becomes obvious that Mr Beaver is on the side of good…and has been sent to help the children in many valuable ways. Mr. Beaver leads Peter, Susan, Edmund & Lucy to his home. A comfortable warm & friendly shelter…a home tucked away near the water’s edge. A safe place for the children to hide away from their enemies and winter’s icy blast. “Merely a trifle! Merely a trifle…and it isn’t really finished,” says Mr. Beaver. It’s in this safe hideaway where we find out vitally important details about Narnia, Aslan, the white witch, and the importance of the children’s visit to Narnia.