The Chronicles of NARNIA
A special opportunity has come to the screens this Christmas. “The Chronicles of Narnia” is a movie that could open the eyes of many to more than just Hollywood splendor. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (LWW) is one of seven books in a series about the adventures of children in a place called Narnia where a Lion called Aslan, Son of the Emperor Over-Sea, Creator and King of Narnia, teaches the children about who they are and who they can be. C.S. Lewis, the author, was a Cambridge professor who was an atheist until he received Christ in his forties. Lewis was an associate of J.R.R. Tolkien (the Lord of the Rings) and others who wrote fiction that spoke from their Christian background. Lewis wrote many other books such as Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters that speak to our need to know more about Truth, the Person of Jesus Christ. This message is not about lifting up CS Lewis nor his writings but the Christ about whom Lewis writes.
In Revelation 5, we are told by John the Revelator that the book of seals cannot be opened by members of mankind. If there is any prophecy or joy or salvation, we cannot know it unless we open the Book of Life. Only God can reveal this information to us. In Rev. 5, John sees the Lion of Judah, the Messiah longed for since David, approaching the Book. As the Book is opened, a revelation of the Lamb of God appears. This Lamb who took died in our place, who became the ultimate sacrifice on the cross, took away the penalty of our personal rebellion and gave us Resurrection Hope! What does mankind need now to open its eyes to the Lamb of God? Could one way possibly include a book/movie about a Lion? The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a book that could have wonderful outreach affects in your family as well as your community.
I Why read Narnia Tales since we have the Bible? First, parents can help their children learn discernment by starting with "children’s books" and showing their children how to read ‘between the lines’ in the Bible as well as modern books. God did not stop speaking to us after the Bible was finished. Although the Bible is the perfect message to us, His general revelation is all around us (Romans 1:16-32). People look at the same world and some see a natural evolution to this point in time. Others see that there is an order to the universe, from nebulas to the smaller universe of DNA and atoms, that shows intelligence behind all that there is. In our world, there are many clues to God, but some do not see them as reflecting a personal God who stepped across the stars to walk among us.
As parents read through all the Narnia tales, creation, sin, judgment, obedience and the will of God can be seen in the pages of the various volumes. To talk about Aslan as the Christ figure can be a very important step in spiritual growth of our children. Narnia may not be true but it contains spiritual truth in its pages. As children read the Bible, they see the Truth in the life of Jesus, the Lion of Judah. In the LWW, we see the Witch/Satan as an absolute evil against the absolute good and holiness of Aslan/Christ. (Harry Potter and other books show a person of lesser evil fighting a villain of greater evil and so people tend cheer for the lesser of the two evils as the hero.)
In LWW, the Wardrobe is a way of leaving the secular world (where there is no supreme being) we live in and seeing life from a different viewpoint. Aslan eventually tells the children that they must return to their time and they were brought to Narnia not to stay but to experience something more real. The children are to remember this brighter, more vibrant, more joyful dimension when they return to a more drab natural world in which very few people believe in a supreme Creator. One of the children grasp this as she says, “It’s not Narnia that we will miss. It’s You, Aslan.” We all miss the God we need, the God we want, the God who must be there for our life to have some order, meaning or purpose.
Narnia is not heaven. Heaven is seen in the last volume of Narnia, The Last Battle where a Stable is found on a battlefield in which “something bigger than the whole world” resided. The Door of the Stable speaks of death which leads followers of Aslan “Farther In and Farther Up” to Aslan’s country- The perfected Narnia with a Garden, etc. Judgment, false gods, the Lamb, the Lion and other reflections of the book of Revelation are seen in the last volume of Narnia.
II Second, even Adults need to be spiritually inspired from time to time. YES, followers of Christ should be stirred by the Holy Spirit at all times but we do drift away from the presence of our Lord, do we not? It may not be Narnia, but Max Lucado, Oswald Chambers, Thomas a’ Kempis, John Calvin or others who have inspired us although there writings are not infallible. Just as the Lord Jesus spoke in perfect parables of His day, we hear imperfect yet helpful parables of many authors that help us refocus on God’s written WORD as THE BOOK to read and the Living WORD as the One to Heed! (Try the Christian classics at www.ccel.org.)
As the Pevensie children were urged by Aslan to go back and live in their world but not be of the world, adults are stirred by numerous books, movies, talk shows to live above their circumstances. But we all must learn to distinguish between the worldly philosophy of Oprah or John Edwards and the truisms within many mediums from those mediums that point to The Truth of Christ. It was not easy for Mary or Joseph to make out God’s Will at the time of their angelic visitations, but they discerned that God had a purpose for them and they obediently fulfilled it. So must we listen to the Truth of the Christ Child account and then follow the Christ.
Aslan tells the children in one book of Narnia, “You were brought here to Narnia so that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there (in your world). The mountaintop times in our lives are few but they are provided by God so that we may either discover Him or will continue to seek His face as we live the majority of our lives in the valley of the shadow of death. And remember, there is no shadow without a Light ...of the World!
The Advent story of the birth of Christ reminds us that there are many “stories” in the world. Romantic, gothic, mystery and science fiction novels have a viewpoint to exhibit but God is not usually in them. The Bible is the perfect book for all imperfect people in an imperfect world. We must trust that God is, that Jesus is the Lamb of God come to take Our rebellion and impart to us holiness as we receive Him in faith. Without Jesus, we can do nothing in the world, all our Christmases are just holidays, not holy days, and we die not having ever lived.
III A third reason to read godly “children’s books”, as well as turn them into movies, is that many people do not read the Bible at all. The LWW , The Return of the King, Pilgrim’s Progress or even Les Miserable-Victor Hugo, Brothers Karamzov-Fyodor Dostoyevsky or Resurrection –Leo Tolstoy are all books by which the Holy Spirit can show people their rebellion that affects their neighbors and their need for a power greater than human wealth, fame or fortune. Evangelism came by parables in Christ’s day and the LWW is an example of a modern parable by which God draws us unto Himself. Evangelism can begin with a meaningful book that allows a person to be stirred by the Holy Spirit so that they ponder the meaning of Jesus Christ in the world. Once some hunger begins to rise in this person, a more specific Christian book or New Testament or Bible can be given. There are many ways by which to be witnesses to the world. In the end, God does not asks us to be successful in our evangelism. He asks us to be obedient. We share and He saves. We talk and the Holy Spirit will interpret.
Many people will say that God is too.....something. Too restrictive. Too legalistic. His expectations are too high! Well, if the God of the Bible is GOD, then it is not up to us to diminish His principles. It is up to us to change our worldview of God and His character.
In the LWW, the children know little about Aslan when they realize he is a lion and Lucy asks the beavers , “Is he quite safe? I would be rather nervous about meeting a lion.” “No, He is not a Tame Lion!,” answer the beavers. Why do would we humans expect a safe, tame God made in our image?? Jesus tells us we must have the mindset of a child to enter heaven. Childlikeness, not childishness is being encouraged here. Thus, we need to realize that God, being a holy, righteous, good GOD, knows the best, created the best and wants us to have His best—the SON, the Lion of Judah, Jesus! If we cannot accept Jesus on His own terms as Creator, then we will have to accept the judgment we have brought on to ourselves (John 3:16-18).
May we look for the presence of Christ in His handiwork all around us at Christmas. God in Christ is a true miracle, God in man born of a virgin yet sinless so He could stand in the gap for us. A human yet deity. One who lived with sinners yet sinless Himself. When we have problems, we can surely go to Christ who knows our pains, our temptations and failures. Yet He loved us enough, in spite of our rebellion, to die in our place so that we could live here in His name and with Him eternally. This is the wonderful Good News of Advent (The Coming) Season. Advent points out that God not only came to live with His creatures, not just to provide a Wardrobe to make us aware of our need for God nor a Stable to be the Way to eternal life, but there will be a second Advent when Jesus returns to Rule the Universe. Jesus is The Lamb who is the Lion of Judah.
IV The Wardrobe that leads to Narnia reminds us of the TRANSCENDENCE of GOD. We must think and look beyond this world to understand the Creator. General revelation is a way of conviction by which God reminds us of HIS presence and our need. But we need more.
The Stable of the Narnia Tales speaks of IMMANANCE, Emmanuel, God with Us! We are reminded that GOD through CHRIST came TO US. TO live among us, teach us, encourage us, DIE for us, and was resurrected to give us HOPE through these acts. This CHRIST is reflected as a symbol by Aslan The Stable is used to point the first Advent and the Second Advent, to a new heaven & earth.
And so the LWW reminds us that the world is a place of general understanding. God reveals His Creation and provides feasts, holy days, etc. so that we may look forward to that which is better, perfect and holy. Finally, the special revelation of God through the Incarnation, the Virgin Birth, and the other miracles, including the Crucifixion and Resurrection, are bestowed so that we may trust in the Babe who grew to be a Man, the Carpenter who grew to be a Saviour, and the Lamb who was also a Lion! This Advent, Seek ye first, the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and the things of this world will find an order in your life. And give a book as a gift to your children and friends. . We need more people in our area who are enlightened through God’s gift of reading. Happy Advent!
