Finding God In Narnia: Meet The Cast - Peter & Edmund Series

Finding God in Narnia has been our topic series for the last few weeks.

Narnia...sounds like something a California teenager might say. “how was the surfing?” “it was narnia, dude!”

C.S.Lewis, the author of “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe” was to many people the greatest Christian writer of the last century. He wrote many books on the Christian life and matters of the faith. Some of them are pretty deep. I remember reading “Mere Christianity” when I was in college some 20 years ago. Although a great argument for the truth of Christianity, and how full and rich it can be, I had to read just about every other paragraph about three times. His specialty was apologetics, an intellectual style of writing, but he also wanted people to understand from the heart’s perspective not just the mind. He thought that sometimes we can approach the Bible with so much reverence, that we become too distant from our personal relationship with God.

Don’t get me wrong...reverence is a good thing, but that shouldn’t be the only thing. Lewis said this: “Supposing that by casting all of these things into an imaginary world, stripping them of their stained glass and Sunday school associations one could then, for the first time, appear in their potency? Could one not thus steal passed those watchful dragons?”

OK, so what does that mean? Don’t feel bad I had to look it up. Gene Vieth, in his book “The Soul of TLWW” translated that quote. He said that by presenting the Christian story in this way would get past the defenses of those who think they have heard it all before, or those that have become so familiar with the stories of the Bible that they just don’t notice any more how amazing they really are.

Last week, Marty introduced you to Mr. & Mrs. Beaver. Today, I am going to introduce you to Peter and Edmund, the Sons of Adam.

Sons of Adam, you hear it a lot in LWW, but what does it mean to be a Son of Adam? In Narnia it holds a place of status and wonder. In the home of the first creature we meet, Mr. Tumnus, the Faun, there is a book on the shelf entitled “A Study in Popular Legend: Is Man a Myth?” Every time one of the creatures of Narnia meet one of the children, they seem amazed at the existence of a human. But unlike us seeing the Lock Ness Monster or Big Foot, thinking we’ve lost touch with reality, these creatures hold humans in high regard. The animals know that it is the law of the land that only a human can be a king or queen of Narnia, even if the children didn’t. It was the wise Mr. Beaver that started to open the children’s eyes to how important they are. When they first met Aslan, the ruler, this big, imposing lion, they were a little bit apprehensive (to say the least): jockeying for the last position. “You first.” “ No, you first.” It was Mr. Beaver that told them, “No, Sons of Adam before animals.” They had prominence, or special place of status the kingdom of Narnia. We see that in parallel in the Bible.

In the book of Genesis, it says that God created Adam in His own image. Not only did God give him a job as the head gardener, but in Genesis 1:28 God gave Adam dominion over all of His creation.

Romans 8:15-17.

“And by him we cry, “Abba Father.” The spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs of Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we also share in his glory.”

You see we have a special place too, a special place of status in God’s Kingdom.

Why is being a Son of Adam important or special? Only a human or Son of Adam or Daughter of Eve can rightfully be a queen or king in Narnia. Those are the rules. There is a prophesy that Mr. Beaver lets the children in on while staying in the safety of Mr. Beaver’s lodge, on the way to meet Aslan. He tells them a poem “When Adam’s flesh and Adam’s bone sits at Cair Paravel on throne, the evil time will be over and done.” Now it just so happens that there are four thrones in the castle Cair Paravel. There are now four humans in Narnia. Hmm? You see here a destiny in a way, a promise beginning to come true. For the children they have a role to play in the grand scheme of things. They aren’t just tourists on vacation. They play a part in the future of the kingdom.